The founder of the Synagogue Church of all Nations, Prophet Temitope Joshua, has claimed that he saw a vision of the incident that killed at least 115 persons in the church guesthouse.
The victims, mainly South Africans, died when a six-storey guesthouse belonging to the church caved in on September 12.
The embattled clergyman, who said he knew something tragic was to befall his ministry, noted that he prepared his parishioners on how to handle the tragedy.
In a statement posted on the SCOAN’s official Facebook page, TB Joshua warned his critics against accusing him of failing to foresee the disaster that befell his ministry.
“For those who are outside the Lord, they would not know. When you are outside God, you will not know what I am talking. When you are outside the light, you cannot understand what I am talking.
“For the three weeks before the incident, if you heard my message and sat down, you would know I was giving you a vision and prophetic word on how to handle the situation at hand. Trials and tests are for our belief. I go by the directives of God,” TB Joshua claimed.
Accusing his critics of being “used by Satan,” the televangelist said they were just out to “disturb” the faith of his local and international members with “negative words.”
According to him, all the “Satanic agents” criticising him over the circumstances surrounding the incident, would soon “suffer for it.”
Since none of his critics is unable to help him raise the victims from death, TB Joshua argued that they should stop rubbishing his ministry or risk paying dearly for it.
Those who could not stop what happened (building collapse), he said, should be “careful of their tongues” as “anybody can go for it.
“I have been on this journey for 27 years. Do you think God can close His eyes and rubbish everything here? They are asking God to bring more evidence of whether He is the one who called me. Warn everyone to be very careful. This issue at hand is a delicate issue.
“People are using this to gain money and friends. This is a warning. Whatever people want to write let them write; they will be the ones to read it. I said our God would get back to them. He has started somewhere. He is coming. If your brother is involved, unless he can resurrect the people who died, he will join them. If you can resurrect the people who died, you can go free.
“The servants, the people who sent them; the people who heard the stories all around and those who want to use it for themselves and to disturb my spirit, you may likely join them. Be careful. To be forewarned is to be forearmed. Let us be very careful with our tongues,” he warned.
Urging those questioning his calling not to sway his followers, he added that they should extend love and affection to the victims and relations of those involved in the tragedy.
The prophet insisted that the 115 victims were martyrs, adding that their relations would see the continuation of the work of God “they died and suffered for.
“Your responsibility is to the victims and the relations of the victims and martyrs of faith. If you say you are born again, wherever the victims and their relations are, wherever the relations of the martyrs of faith are, look for them. Let them know you are praying for them. What you eat; let them eat it.
“What you wear; let them wear. What you have on your table, let them have it on their tables, too. Share what you have with them – your love, prayer, affection and strength. Share it with them at this time. This is what we call ‘born again’ – my pain is your pain. Your joy is my joy.
“The multitude of people who claim to be with T.B. Joshua in prayer – if the same people turn to the families of the victims and martyrs of faith, don’t you think life would be better for them than before? Join them; look for them, as many other things they are doing now.” [myad]
Former Managing Director of News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) is dead. Her death was confirmed today by her husband, Mr. Vincent Oyo.
Remi Oyo, who was also Special Adviser on media and publicity to Chief Olusegun Obasanjo when he was President of Nigeria, was said to have died yesterday afternoon in a London hospital at the age of 62.
Deputy Editor-In-Chief of NAN, Mr. Dele Bodunde, also confirmed Oyo’s death.
The Independent National Electoral Commission has confirmed that the tenure of office of the President, Vice President, Governors and Deputy Governors will expire on May 28 2015. The electoral body however ruled out the case of Anambra, Bayelsa, Kogi, Edo, Ondo, Ekiti and Osun states, and the membership of the national and state assemblies,
The Chief Press Secretary to the INEC Chairman, Mr. Kayode Idowu, said in a statement announced that elections into these offices will be December 29 2014 and the latest day for election shall be April 28, 2015.
“By virtue of the provisions of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) elections into the said offices shall not hold earlier than 150 days and not later than 30 days before the expiration of the term of office of the last holder.”
The commission was, by virtue of Section 30 (1) of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended), expected to issue a Notice for the elections not later than 90 days (October 1) before the date of the elections.
INEC has therefore fixed the Presidential and National Assembly elections for February 14, 2015 while governorship and state assemblies election will take place on February 28, 2014.
While campaign by political parties for the Presidential and National Assembly elections commences on November 16, 2014, campaign for governorship and State House of Assembly begins on November 30, 2014
Collection of Forms for all elections by political parties has been fixed for between November 4 and 11 2014 for political parties to issue to their candidates at INEC Headquarters.
“Run off election to the office of the President or Governor of a State (if any) will be held within 7 days after the announcement of the result of the election in accordance with the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).” [myad]
FROM LEFT. VICE PRESIDENT NAMADI SAMBO; FORMER CHAIRMAN, OF NIGERIA INTERIM GOVERNMENT, ERNEST SHONAKAN ; FORMER MILITARY HEAD OF STATE, GEN. YAKUBU GOWON;PRESIDENT GOODLUCK JONATHAN; FIRST LADY DAME PATINCE JONATHAN AND SENATE PRESIDENT DAVID MARK DURING THE 54TH INDEPENDENCE ANNIVERSARY PRESIDENTIAL CHANGE OF GUARDS PARADE ON WEDNESDAY(1/10,14)
Nigeria First Lady, Patience Faka Jonathan has made it clear that she is not ready to die even as she wondered why anybody would like to kill himself. This was even as she prayed that Nigerian children are not get killed by Boko Haram insurgents. The First Lady spoke today while hosting children to a party organised in the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to mark the 54th Independence anniversary of Nigeria. she said that some people have been committing suicide using bombs, adding: “God forbid, I don’t want to die. I don’t want you (children) to die because you can be the President tomorrow. I don’t want you to die and you will never die.” She advised the children to beware of people that may come to their schools and put objects in their bags or pockets to report such thing to their teachers, parents and security agencies, saying that those things could be bombs. Dame Patience asked the children to pray for the release of their sisters who were abducted by members of Boko Haram from the Government Girls Secondary School, Chibok in Borno state in April this year. She asked them: “is it good to adopt your fellow persons? Children, will you like to kill yourselves? Children, are you happy to be a Nigerian?” Dame Patience added: “you will be a good ambassador to Nigeria and pride to your parents.” She told the children that Nigeria has, over the years, laid a solid foundation for them to become good leaders of tomorrow and that the government is determined to ensure that they realize their full potentials. It is for you therefore to be focused, concentrate on your studies and avail yourselves of all the opportunities that come your way. “I would also want you to know that Government is committed to the promotion of the rights of children, improved maternal and child health in the country so that you can grow up strong and healthy. “Educational infrastructures are also being improved upon and modern equipments provided to ensure a conducive atmosphere for learning. Dame Patience asked the children to be patriotic to Nigeria as they don’t have any other country apart from Nigeria. “Whether good or bad, you must love your country and in your own little ways, work towards making it better and even the best. “I want you to intensify your prayers for the peace and tranquility of in our country so that Mr. President will have a conducive atmosphere to execute all the good plans he has for the development of our country Nigeria.”
Let me first express my fraternal greetings to our great sons and daughters. I am delighted to, on behalf of Ebira Peoples Association (EPA) give an extract on the organization’s attempt at mediating and resolving some of the debilitating security issues in our land. These efforts have been all involving and not limited to the executives of the body as we are just a collegiate of the various tendencies of our people. The struggle to salvage a land should not be limited to the selfish and pretender claims of who does what but must at all times ventilate the philosophy of “collectivism is the strength of a community.” This is very much in line with the Ebira age-long saying that the concern of a passer-by regarding a commotion occasioned in a community by an invading snake is about whether the snake has been killed and not who killed or what was used to kill the snake. The ease of killing the proverbial snake can only be a quotient of the amalgamated focus and strength of its hunters. This can never be achieved by atomizing into individualism and little groups which invariably betrays the weakness inherent in snakes as they refuse to flock together. Shared responsibility in the form of pulling resources together is the winning game in the contemporary world. Permit me to say a healthy debate can only resonate the intellectual under-current of our inner minds and the alloy of our harmonized perspectives can only turn out finer grains of the issues of our land, at least within the realm of our online platform. EPA therefore welcomes all criticisms about our land as they serve as a barometer of our performance. However, I ask every child of our land to contribute financially or otherwise to the growth of this umbrella body while we concurrently ask for accountability on the part of its executives. This is the only way we can reduce the moral burden on our conscience when we criticize the same body. I would very much like to retire this discourse to the issue of security which is the most paramount in the life of a man, as the saying goes that ‘even in the midst of plenty, the quantum of consumption is linearly related to the quantum of crisis in and around you.’ Fellow compatriots, I am proud to say that EPA has ceaselessly engaged our community and various security agencies on series of dialogue. Let me hasten to say and put it on record that EPA has its solid fingerprint in the current peace which we all enjoy at home today. On the assumption of office of the current executives, EPA initiated a meeting of all district traditional rulers and ward heads of our community. At the meeting, fingers were variously pointed at the then Area commander of Kogi Central as the problem of our land, as he was said to be renting guns from the police armuory to our politicians’ miscreants to perpetuate mayhem in our land. We initiated a strong meeting with the then commissioner of police where we demanded that he be transferred from our land. It was the refusal of the command to recommend such that made us write a letter to the Inspector General of Police and National Security Adviser. The National Security Council ordered the IG to transfer him. Our appreciation goes to the then Director of Armed forces intelligence, Major General S.Y. Audu who assisted much in this regard. We followed up with a meeting with the Commissioner of Police Alhaji Muhammed Katsina. We gave him a letter for onward transmission to the IG, demanding the construction of police post in all the dark spots where our “bad boys” take hibernation, e.g Ajaokuta road, Ageva, Ege, Usungwe etc. and indeed creation of more Police divisions in Okene. A single Police division is considered inadequate to take care of our burgeoning population and expansion. The letter went up to the police service commission where budgetary constraint has been cited as their main hindrance. Reminders and follow-ups are still been done till date. The president of EPA personally met the then IG on this. In order to foster a good Community/Security agents relationship, the then Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Katsina and DSS directed all the DPOs and Heads of SSS in the District to hold a meeting of security agents in the Land with Ebira Leaders at the Hilltop hotel Okene. The meeting came up with frank and rewarding suggestions at addressing some of our security challenges. Part of the resolution was to design forms to be filled by any prospective tenant(s), signed by the landlord, attested to by the Ward Head and endorsed by the Police in the area. The form is to carry relevant security information about the tenant. It was purely about knowing your neighbor. Three things necessitated this meeting. They are: 1. The discovery of explosives in a house rented out to a tenant in Obangede. 2. As a reaction to the interview by the former GOC 1st mechanized division on the volatile security situation in the north wherein he mentioned Okene as second to Kano in the order of security volatility in the north. 3. The privileged information from the Intelligence passed on to me as President of EPA on the worry by the President of the Federal Government about Okene becoming a point from which an attack could be launched on the FCT, based on reports that Okene had become a transit point for arms from the South destined for Federal Capital Territory. It was three days after the meeting above that there was an attack on the Deeper Life and murder of soldiers. EPA swiftly addressed a press conference and had one-on-one meetings with the Commander, Military Barrack in Lokoja; GOC 1st mechanized division in Kaduna, Director of Defense intelligence and the Chief of Army Staff. The high level personae that attended the meetings are still on ground. The meeting was to douse the impending holocaust on our land and calm the frayed nerves of the security personnel. In addition to this meeting was a high level security meeting facilitated by our distinguished Senator, Nurudeen Abatemi and our other elected representatives in Inike town hall, Okene. This meeting was also followed up with another one with the Governor as facilitated by the same senator. The meetings came up with a lot of resolutions. EPA followed up all these meetings with a letter to the President, Chief of Army Staff and National Security Adviser, demanding for a Military Barrack in Ebiraland. Three major reasons were cited for this request. They are: 1. To arrest the spate of violence prevailing in the area. 2. The fact that we are bounded by six communities where the borders are very porous, thereby permitting cross-border banditry. 3. Our peculiar location that makes it a commercial melting point and transportation hub between the south and north. We have ceaselessly followed this request with series of letters to the Chief of Army Staff. Indeed, I had a call from one Brigadier General Butu of the Army headquarters drawing attention that our letter was received. Two major challenges they have in attending to our request include: 1. The fact that the Barrack in Lokoja was initially in Okene until a protest was launched for it to be moved after the civil war. 2. The fact that the Barrack in Otokiti Village, Lokoja is still in Ebiraland, making it difficult to have a second one in the same location. We have not lost hope as I still reiterated the request to the present Commander of the Barrack in Lokoja, General Abubakar. He disclosed to me that the Army council has, in fact, approved a new Barrack for Kogi but unsure of its location. We have since followed up with another reminder to the COAS. Some other efforts of EPA at securing peace for our Land include: 1. Recovery of cache of arms from our cemeteries which the military actively partner with us to undertake. 2. Sometimes back, there were reports made to EPA on some unholy activities of some miscreants in some quarters of our land. Two notorious places are noteworthy for these same activities, but would not be disclosed at the moment. Relevant steps are being taken by the security agents in partnership with EPA. 3. It was a measure of confidence of the security authorities on EPA to refer the crisis within the Igbo community in Ebiraland which has the propensity to dovetail onto our land to EPA for adjudication, despite the fact that the Area Commander, Commissioner of Police were already joined in a suit on the issue in a law court. Much effort is being made at resolving it as EPA has consulted with the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland and the Supreme Elder’s council in a move towards resolving the issue. 4. EPA decided to institutionalize a Supreme Elders’ Council for our land with a view to nipping in the bud all and every local issues besetting the land. This body has just gotten a new Chairman in the person of Alhaji Sule Aliu (Alias Sule Engineer) who has taken over from Adai Senator Isa Abonyi Obaro. This body is currently mediating on a lot of the issues of the land, such as Ohinoyi/Ohi crisis, Ebira/Ogori land dispute, and Ebira/Edo land dispute.
Former Head of State, General Muhammadu Buhari has called on his supporters not to abuse President Goodluck Jonathan or any of the Presidential aspirants in any of the political parties on his behalf.
Buhari who made the call yesterday in Abuja while addressing his 66 support groups that came under one umbrella, Buhari Support Centre made it clear that whoever engages in abusing or being rude to other Presidential hopefuls will be assumed to be working for the enemy.
“I must warn all my supporters, volunteers and other well-wishers within the party or even out of it, not to insult or be rude to any other aspirant or party leader on my behalf.
“My supporters must not engage in any kind of behaviour or conduct that will tarnish the image of any leader or promote division and rancour within the ranks of the party.Whoever does that should know that he or she is working for the enemy.”
The former leader further urged his supporters to be vigilant during and after elections and avoid taking laws into their hands.
“In particular, you must learn to be vigilant especially just before, during and immediately after elections, whether elections are rigged or not.”
According to him, this is necessary so that sponsored hoodlums do not have chance to commit illegalities and in the end, members of the group are blamed.
“Not only must you not take the law into your hands no matter the level of provocation, you must be able to expose those planning to do so before the act,’’ he said.
He said he would soon declare his presidential ambition on the platform of the APC, adding that party interest should be put above self interest.
He also said that for their support to be more meaningful, it must go beyond him to APC and candidates the party presented because its decision was ultimate.
“You must at all times remember that the APC is a party with several qualified people for each and all the positions that will be contested, including that of the president.
“It is the primaries that will determine who will eventually represent the party and in which capacity.
“If I get the nomination, I will expect you to redouble your effort and commitment until we clinch the presidency.
“In the event that it happens to be one of the other aspirants who win, I will expect you, as good party men, to extend to him your total support.
“We are a united party and united we shall remain because our strength lies in our unity,’’ Buhari said.
The Director-General of the Centre, Umar Dembo, said it was “a department within the Buhari Campaign Organisation where all activities of the groups would be coordinated’’.
Also speaking, former President, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Daniel Onje, urged members of the centre to eschew campaign of anarchy.
“I am a Christian and I refuse to believe in a campaign of anarchy. Contrary to insinuations, Buhari is a not a religious bigot.
“The appellation is the handiwork of those who want to continue to keep Nigeria down and divided. [myad]
President Goodluck Jonathan has raised the hope of Nigerians, declaring that tomorrow will be better than yesterday and today. In a nation-wide broadcast this morning to mark Nigeria’s 54th Independence, the President declared: “our tomorrow will be better than our yesterday and today. Nigeria has got the human and material resources to excel and we shall lead the way in that journey to our manifest destiny.” His hope is hinged on what he said was some far reaching advances that have been made towards building a strong, united and prosperous nation. According to the President, Nigeria has been able to overcome the forces of disunity that culminated in a debilitating civil war in the 60’s, even as the citizenry have renewed their faith in one another, and in the country. “We have proven that we are truly a resilient nation.” Jonathan stressed that the goals which his government set to achieve for the country involved expanding the frontiers of economic freedom. He called on Nigerians to unite with one heart and one mind, adding: “all our people must have access to the good things of life. All our people must be empowered to pursue the gift of life with happiness. This is our country; we must build it for our common posterity.” He said thay as the nation moves into an election year, desperate moves to overheat the polity are becoming a regular occurrence. “Our political leaders in particular must know that the contest for power should not translate to the destruction of the polity. “The contest for the leadership of our country must yield good governance, and not ungovernable spaces. The love of country should rank higher than our individual ambitions. “We must remain committed to a united and indivisible Nigeria within democratic parameters. The protection of individual rights, liberty, equality before the law, freedom of thought, and a progressive pursuit of a sound economy must be our goal.” The President however recalled with sadness, what he called “the unprecedented war of terror unleashed on some parts of the country by the terrorists (members of Boko Haram) who want to compel us to live our lives their way. They will not succeed!” President Jonathan said that in their mission, Boko Haram insurgents have maimed and raped, as well as killed men, women and children, even as they also rendered many children orphans and several women widows. “They have made violence their ideology and are bent on destroying our country. Dear countrymen and women, we will not allow them.” The full text of President Jonathan’s broadcast is reproduced hereunder:
Fellow Nigerians
Today marks the 54th anniversary of our country’s independence as a sovereign nation. This is also the tenth month of our journey into a new century, having marked the centenary of our nation in January this year.
The first one hundred years were marked by triumphs and tribulations, benefits and burdens, opportunities and challenges. We made some far reaching advances in building a strong, united and prosperous nation. We also overcame the forces of disunity that culminated in a debilitating civil war. We have also renewed our faith in one another, and in our country. We have proven that we are truly a resilient nation.
In my address to the nation last year, I did emphasize that we were in a sober moment in our country. We are still in that mood in spite of the many accomplishments of our administration. Our sombreness has to do with the crises of nationhood occasioned by the activities of terrorist elements who have done the unimaginable to challenge our unity as a people.
On an occasion like this, it is important that we remember all the precious souls that have been lost in the unprecedented war of terror unleashed on some parts of our country by these individuals who want to compel us to live our lives their way. They will not succeed.
In their mission, they have maimed and raped. They have killed men, women and children, rendering many children orphans and several women widows.
They have made violence their ideology and are bent on destroying our country. Dear countrymen and women, we will not allow them.
Night after night, day after day, our security forces continue to engage the terrorists in battle. My gratitude goes out to our armed forces whose will has been greatly challenged by this insurgency more than any other time, since the civil war.
Yet, they have remained undaunted and unwearied in the face of constant challenge and mortal danger. Driven by patriotic zeal, they are turning the tide by their prowess and determination. As Commander-in-Chief, I will continue to do all it takes to enable them to keep on inflicting devastating blows at the heart of terror. Fellow Nigerians, it is our collective duty as patriots to avail our men and women in uniform of all the support they need to fight and win this war.
This Administration is committed to making Nigeria safe for all Nigerians, irrespective of our places of birth, how we worship God and our political persuasion. To all those waging war against our country, I ask that you lay down your arms and embrace peace.
To those who have genuine grievances, I affirm that Nigeria will listen to you, if you bring your grievances to the table of dialogue. To the good people of Nigeria, let me restate that our task of building a better and greater country must not waver.
While we continue to deploy our resources in the fight against the terrorists, we do recognize the great toll the conflict is taking on our people.
This is why, to assist the afflicted, we have launched the Victims Support Fund, an independent multi-sectoral charity, which will aggressively solicit resources to augment Government’s statutory intervention, in bringing succour to the injured, the displaced and the bereaved.
In partnership with Nigerian business leaders and international partners, we have also introduced the Safe Schools Initiative which is aimed at promoting safe environments for education nationwide, starting with the North East region. The Presidential Initiative for the North East, a comprehensive programme to fast-track the economic restoration of this region, which has been the epicentre of terrorist activity, has been set up.
Our overall objective is to do all we possibly can, to sustain in the North-East, the momentum of economic advancement, which is on-going in other parts of the country, despite the machinations of the terrorists and their sponsors.
It should now be clear to anyone who was ever in doubt that these terrorists do not mean well for anyone, of whatever religion or dispensation. Their persistent choice of the weakest and most vulnerable in society, for gruesome attack, provides an insight into their abnormal mind-set.
I urge every Nigerian to put aside political, sectional or other parochial considerations, and support whole-heartedly the efforts of the government and the military, in checking this evil.
We are grateful to the international community, and especially our neighbours who are working closely with us in confronting this challenge, for their increased partnership and solidarity. Our steady progress in weakening the insurgency has certainly justified our cooperation.
Fellow Nigerians, in my independence anniversary address last year, I informed you that we had taken cognizance of the suggestion over the years by well-meaning Nigerians on the need to focus attention on rebuilding and strengthening the ligaments of our union. It was in that regard that we announced the convening of a National Dialogue on the future of our beloved country.
We have successfully delivered on that promise as we established the 2014 National Conference headed by Justice Legbo Kutigi. After months of deliberations, which did not come without its challenges, the conference concluded its assignment and has handed its Report to me.
I have made a firm commitment that we would act on the recommendations of the conference. This, I have started by setting up the Ministerial Committee headed by the Honourable Attorney General of the Federation to work out the modalities for implementing the Report. Every promise I make, God willing, I will see to its fulfilment. I assure you, we shall implement the report.
One major lesson which the 2014 National Conference has taught us as a country is that, a multi-ethnic country like ours, must learn to embrace painstaking dialogue until consensus is established.
To me, the National Conference is the greatest centenary gift to our country that we must cherish and sustain.
Fellow Nigerians, our 54 year-journey as a nation has not been easy. There have been tough periods, but the Nigerian spirit and the unflagging resilience of our people have seen us through. We will continue to march forward to greater heights.
We have been able to sustain a big, strong and influential country with a robust economy. We are currently in our sixteenth year of uninterrupted democratic rule, daily improving on the consolidation of our democratic process.
Our Administration has made a commitment to ensure that we build and sustain a democratic infrastructure anchored on free and fair elections. International and local observers have attested to the positive evolution of electoral credibility and we cannot afford to relent.
We will continue to ensure that the will of the electorate prevails so that political leaders would be reminded at all times that there is a day of reckoning when they have to go back to the people at the polls. Election days must not be days of violence and death. We must remain vigilant to ensure that our electoral process is characterised by peace, security and transparency.
I enjoin the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), all security agencies, politicians and the electorate to work conscientiously and peacefully, together, to consolidate on the gains of the recent elections. Free and fair elections have come to stay; nothing else will be acceptable to our people.
My dear countrymen and women, occasions such as this present an opportunity to thank God for our country and to report to you, on our journey so far.
Our power sector reform is on course with the ultimate objective of generating enough electricity to power our homes, industries and businesses. We are making giant strides in the Agricultural Sector which we are re-positioning to diversify our economy. We will continue to upgrade our infrastructure to make life easier for all and create an enabling environment for enterprise to flourish.
Over the last four years, the implementation of the Nigerian Content Act in the Oil and Gas Sector has ensured major increase in the participation of indigenous Oil and Gas companies in the industry. Several critical infrastructure projects have been commissioned and commenced. The level of indigenous asset ownership has greatly increased and utilisation of Nigerian-owned and built assets such as marine vessels and rigs is being progressively enforced. There has been maximised local value addition by encouraging the manufacture of equipment components and parts within the country. There has also been massive growth in indigenous participation in the provision of goods and services to the upstream sector from 10% to 60% within the last four years.
Today, following the rebasing of our economy, every international monitoring and ratings agency now acknowledges Nigeria as the largest economy in Africa, with a Gross Domestic Product of five hundred and ten billion dollars ($510 billion) which also places us as the 26th largest economy in the world. This is progress.
Earlier in the year, we launched the Nigeria Industrial Revolution Plan (NIRP) and the National Enterprise Development Programme (NEDEP) with the stated objective of fast tracking inclusive growth, job creation, enterprise development and industrialisation.
The success of these policies is already evident in the increased value addition in the agricultural and manufacturing sectors.
In line with our objective of encouraging the production of made-in-Nigeria vehicles and making Nigeria a regional hub for the automobile industry, a number of foreign auto manufacturers have established plants in Nigeria, complementing the laudable efforts of our local vehicle manufacturers who have also demonstrated great innovation and competitiveness.
We have also launched a special support programme for Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises with an initial intervention fund of two hundred and twenty billion naira (N220 b). This is in addition to the Presidential Job Creation Board which I inaugurated recently with the charge to create three million jobs annually.
In demonstration of our Administration’s commitment to addressing Nigeria’s housing deficit, we have commenced the new mortgage re-finance programme with the establishment of the Nigerian Mortgage Re-finance Company. It is expected that, in addition to creating additional housing units across the country, this initiative also represents a huge job creation opportunity.
We have recorded notable success in the social sector. Nigeria has been globally acknowledged for reducing extreme hunger by more than half, with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) formally presenting the country with an award for achieving the Millennium Development Goal on Hunger three years ahead of the 2015 target date set for the Millennium Development Goals.
This progress is as a result of the deliberate policy of government to increase capacity in our agricultural sector of which the first step was to address and eliminate the graft in our fertilizer procurement system and ensure that the product gets directly to the farmer. We are expanding our irrigation infrastructure to ensure that our farmers have sufficient water supply for dry season farming.
A benefit of these combined actions is that our national food import bill has declined from 1.1 trillion naira (6.9 billion dollars) in 2009 to 684.7 billion naira (4.35 billion dollars) by December 2013, and continues to decline.
Modern hybrid schools are being provided for less privileged children across the country, resulting in significant increase in the national school enrolment figure.
In order to further enhance access to education at the tertiary level, fourteen new Federal Universities have been established; and, to encourage persons of exceptional abilities, our Administration has also introduced a Presidential Scholarship Scheme based strictly on excellence and merit.
On infrastructure, we are building roads, bridges, and new rail lines to make it easier to traverse Nigeria and increase the integration of our people and our ability to do business with each other. In this regard, we have commenced the process of building the Second Niger Bridge. The Loko-Oweto Bridge over River Benue in Nasarawa and Benue States, will significantly reduce travel time by road between Northern and Southern Nigeria. The on-going dredging of the River Niger up to Baro in Niger State is opening up large parts of the Nigerian hinterland to maritime activity.
The Zungeru and Mambilla Hydro-electric power projects are on course, and the Kashimbilla dam which we started a few years ago, is nearing completion. The successful privatisation of our power sector will in the long run enhance industrial growth. Policies such as this and others have raised Nigeria to the enviable status of being the number one recipient of Foreign Direct Investment in Africa in the past year.
The result of this infrastructure drive is that two and a half million jobs have been created over the past two years. This is a record, which we are committed to improve upon to continue to provide jobs for our youth.
An unprecedented number of Airports across the country, are not only being reconstructed at the same time, but being re-equipped and reassessed with emphasis on maintaining global standards.
Fellow Nigerians, the goals we set to achieve for our country involve expanding the frontiers of economic freedom. Let us therefore unite with one heart and one mind. All our people must have access to the good things of life. All our people must be empowered to pursue the gift of life with happiness. This is our country; we must build it for our common posterity.
As we move into an election year, desperate moves to overheat the polity are becoming a regular occurrence. Our political leaders in particular must know that the contest for power should not translate to the destruction of the polity.
The contest for the leadership of our country must yield good governance, and not ungovernable spaces. The love of country should rank higher than our individual ambitions.
We must remain committed to a united and indivisible Nigeria within democratic parameters. The protection of individual rights, liberty, equality before the law, freedom of thought, and a progressive pursuit of a sound economy must be our goal.
I cannot end this address without commenting on the deadly Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) which was sadly brought into our country recently. My directives to the Federal Ministry of Health saw the ministry leading the charge in curtailing the spread of this deadly scourge and managing its impact. This is how it should be: swift, effective and comprehensive action in defence of citizens.
It must be pointed out that the Ebola battle is still raging elsewhere in our sub-region. I therefore enjoin all our citizens to continue to adhere strictly to all the guidelines that have been given by our health officials to keep Ebola out of our country.
I appreciate and welcome the spirit of collaboration, unity and partnership with which we confronted the threat of the Ebola Virus Disease. I thank all Nigerians for working together to prevent what could have become a major epidemic. I particularly thank the medical personnel, some of whom made the ultimate sacrifice.
This is the spirit which we must demonstrate at all times as we face up to our challenges as a nation: one people, united by a common resolve, in the pursuit of one common national interest.
As we look forward to another year in our national life, I am more than confident that our tomorrow will be better than our yesterday and today. Nigeria has got the human and material resources to excel and we shall lead the way in that journey to our manifest destiny.
Fellow countrymen, brothers and sisters, in all our plans, and in all our words and our actions, we must stand together in love and unity, as one people under God.
We are one people from the womb of one Nigeria. We are brothers and sisters. We are one family. We are Nigerians.
There can be no arguing the fact that Nigeria has come a long way from the political Independence on October 1st 1960 to date: this is in term of development in socio-economic and politico-cultural fronts. Of course, it would have been a complete misnomer that Nigeria does not make the progress it has made in those 54 years, given the God-given resources it has continually been endowed with. In other words, with such abundant resources in all sectors, it makes no surprising news that such numerous development or achievements have been recorded. This is even aside from the reality that the country has not matched its abundance resources with the kind of advancement it ought to have been made, most of which is attributable to the subject of this commentary. The news that has refused to wash away from the system is the growing corruption that has spread fast, like harmattan wind to catch everybody; the leaders, the politicians, the older ones, students, house wives and even toddlers that are just learning the art of walking and talking. Corruption looms so large in the horizon that the air is fully charged by it, making an escape route to a saner part of the system for the fairly sane few almost none existence. It is corruption that has brought several leaders into and sustain them in power, with particular reference to the period covering part of the General Yakubu Gowon’s regime upto the current dispensation. General Gowon lost power not because he was personally corrupt and or not performing well, but because he was unable to control the corrupt elements in his government. At a point, General Gowon was just a figure head through which some parasites were draining the nation’s financial resources. That was when the idea of opening Swiss accounts by some government functionaries began to manifest. The tide of corruption led to the intervention in governance by late General Murtala Muhammed along with his compatriots in the Nigerian army. But because the corruption was growing like monster, some young military officers, led by Colonel Suka Dimka, threw off the Murtala’s regime, cutting short his dexterous move to cleanse the country of the Augean stables. Murtala’s life and that of some of his compatriots in the army were wasted. General Olusegun Obasanjo took over from the assassinated Murtala, with a lot of panic in his mien. Obasanjo appeared to have been frightened by the ruthlessness in the army and the political system then, and had no choice than to carry the Murtala’s programme of transition to the civilian government to its conclusion in 1979. The transition programme ushered in the civilian regime, led by Alhaji Shehu Usman Aliyu Shagari on the political platform of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN). Of course, like the Gowon’s regime at the tail end of its tenure, Shagari’s government also created a leeway for people with avarice for corruption to grow and thrive. In other words, Shagari might not be corrupt, but he presided over a government in which all manners of corrupt elements were stealing Nigeria blind. And, in any case, there was no difference between being clean while the vault is being infested by corrupt people and the corrupt people themselves! The history repeated itself when another upright military officer, General Muhammadu Buhari, along with his compatriots in the army struck, and swept off the parasites in the Shagari’s regime. What the Buhari government did, which of course, was decried in many quarters as high-handedness, was its herding of all the political leaders and their allies into detention, as it began to cleanse the Augean stables. The regime began to beat Nigerians into line, in conformity with the best behaviour in the civilized world: the behaviours, bereft of corruption and corrupt tendencies that would have set the country on the path to physical and structural development in all human endeavours. But, before the country could settle down to acclimatize to the new sense of directional and positive attitudinal reformation, General Ibrahim Babangida stepped in, along with his team. It is on record that Babangida set the tone of his style of governance by pronouncing that he understood Nigerians as much as he understood his palm. True to type, General Babangida threw the nation’s vault open to whoever threatened his position. All he needed to do was to beckon on such people who were considered before as being incorruptible, and give them positions in the government, with a lot of money to entice them. Such political calculation was invented to make such people keep quiet about the wrong policies that had the capacity of retarding the progress of the country. The erstwhile vitriolic social critic of the government, Tai Solari was one of those that caved-in to Babangida’s policy of bread-and-butter politics or arm twisting. The fire-brand, anti-corruption Nigerians who could not be so quietened by appointment and or monetary inducement took to their heels and went away to other countries on exile. With the proper institutionalisation of corruption at the higher level of government, Nigeria began a backward journey because it became clear that nothing would move anywhere until someone or a group of people got something, usually money and contract, in the bargain. The nation’s politics was and is being oiled with corruption, so much that even the leadership of the country is being considered from that prism. In deed, the trend has remained the same from the second coming of Olusegun Obasanjo as the civilian President from 1999 up to date: the President pretending to be fighting corruption and making deafening noise about it while corruption grows in leap and bound. Or using the anti corruption agencies as attacking dogs for political opponents or enemies as those who are political friends or conformists swim in it. As a matter of fact, corruption has taken several dimensions so much that it is now threatening not only the socio-economic well-being of the country but its corporate existence. In fact, the argument is no longer that corruption does not exist and grows but it has been on who are benefiting from it. The basis for the people from Niger Delta’s push for President Goodluck Jonathan to seek for a second term in office has been, understandably, that people in the North had enjoyed the leadership of the country, with its attendant favours in the award of contracts and others to the Northerners for several years. To them, the continuation of Jonathan tenure would mean the elongation of their chances to continue to enjoy the same favours, which are of course, heavily decked in corruption. As the 2015 elections get nearer, stories are rife that politicians have stored a lot of money which they would use to bribe the electorate which has been termed in recent time as ‘stomach infrastructure.’ What the politicians do, which of course is not new, is to go to the villages, distribute the sum of “insultive” N200 together with six cubes of magi and in some cases, with clothes to women in particular so that they would vote in favour of their political parties. The sad thing about it is that such politicians would always make sure that they impoverish the poor masses so much that when they (the masses) now see N200 and cubes of magi, they would jump for joy! And, from that lowly point, corruption climb up to the highest man in the land, and of course, it goes round all the systems. With corruption cutting across all the strata of the country, one cannot expect the government to defeat the insurgent; one cannot expect the country to move faster forward like its peers, such as Indonesia, India, Malaysia etc, with which it started the journey to Eldorado in the early 60’s. One cannot talk about justice and truth, the drum of which the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubabakar III has been beating at every opportunity in recent time. The story of Nigeria today sharply contrasts that of many countries striving to find their feet in the context of real development, with corruption holding it down to the ground. Take the case of a junior television reporter in Qatar, a country in Middle East for example. The reporter had the privilege of conducting an interview with a top Nigerian leader in his country. After the interview session, the Nigerian leader offered him the sum of $10,000 (about N1.6 Million) as bribe, but other nice name. The reporter, shocked by the gift of such huge sum of money asked the Nigerian leader what was it for. When the Nigerian leader told him it was a special gift for him, the reporter diplomatically turned it down, saying that his monthly salary was enough for him. He however sought one favour from the Nigerian leader: “please write to my employer, commending me for the job I did well.” Or take the case of a Nigeria driver at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, Mr. Imeh Usuah who found the sum of N18 Million forgotten in his cab by a passenger and he returned it intact to the owner hours after. The question has always been, when are Nigerians, the leaders, the business people, the teachers, students, market women and men, house wives and husbands and many other citizens in their millions going to be like the reporter in Qatar and the taxi driver at the Abuja airport? Of course, it is obvious that any Nigerian claiming now or in the near future that he can wipe out corruption in the country through whatever instrumentality is either pretending, playing ignorance, or telling known lie or is confused or looking desperately for who would kill him and or a combination of all these. However, with God Almighty whose attribute is “when He just says be, to anything, it becomes instantly,” wiping out corruption to allow Nigerians breathe fresh air, would be like lightening.
Governor Isa Yuguda of Bauchi state has said that Nigeria could have done better in the fight against corruption before 2006. He said that when it comes to operating the structure that can fight corruption in the system, Nigeria has been lacking. “We certainly could have done better even when it comes to operating the structure that can fight corruption in the system. It is only as late as the year 2006, 2007 that we have some of these institutions that fight corruption were put in place.” He said that the infrastructure for fighting corruption was not put in place for a very long time until only recently. On a general note, Yuguda said that Nigeria at 54 as a country has witnessed a lot of development in terms of political, economy and other sectors especially transportation, communications and a host of other things. “In the 60’s, we have not more that three or four universities but today how many universities are we talking about? 54 years ago, how many road networks do we have in Nigeria? We can now see road networks, airports have been developed “We can say we are on the right track and we believe that the stage has been set for the country to be a developed country “We could have done better. We cannot discount some of the challenges we have had on the last 54 years which has made the country to suffer a lot of problems which ordinarily would have made the country more developed. “Politically, we have had a lot of military interventions in the last 54 years which had made it impossible to deepen our democracy but now we have 15 years of uninterrupted democracy and we are deepening democracy. Politically, you can see the effect of our journey towards being a democratic nation. For the other sectors, sadly we have also had some challenges, economically, we have challenges when it comes to implementation of our development programmes and some of those interventions which made it impossible for us to implement development programmes. “You can see that some of the infrastructure that should be better managed that will lead us, improve from the agrarian status, the agricultural potentials of the country were destroyed at a point in time because so many river basins were all over the country but mismanagement of the part of the public service made it impossible for those infrastructure to survive, to drive the agricultural economy so that we would have been in a better state than we are today.”
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There can be no arguing the fact that Nigeria has come a long way from the political Independence on October 1st 1960 to date: this is in term of development in socio-economic and politico-cultural fronts. Of course, it would have been a complete misnomer that Nigeria does not make the progress it has made in those 54 years, given the God-given resources it has continually been endowed with. In other words, with such abundant resources in all sectors, it makes no surprising news that such numerous development or achievements have been recorded. This is even aside from the reality that the country has not matched its abundance resources with the kind of advancement it ought to have been made, most of which is attributable to the subject of this commentary.
Ebira Peoples Association And Security Of Ebiraland, By Dr. Abdulrahman Adeiza
These efforts have been all involving and not limited to the executives of the body as we are just a collegiate of the various tendencies of our people. The struggle to salvage a land should not be limited to the selfish and pretender claims of who does what but must at all times ventilate the philosophy of “collectivism is the strength of a community.”
This is very much in line with the Ebira age-long saying that the concern of a passer-by regarding a commotion occasioned in a community by an invading snake is about whether the snake has been killed and not who killed or what was used to kill the snake. The ease of killing the proverbial snake can only be a quotient of the amalgamated focus and strength of its hunters. This can never be achieved by atomizing into individualism and little groups which invariably betrays the weakness inherent in snakes as they refuse to flock together. Shared responsibility in the form of pulling resources together is the winning game in the contemporary world.
Permit me to say a healthy debate can only resonate the intellectual under-current of our inner minds and the alloy of our harmonized perspectives can only turn out finer grains of the issues of our land, at least within the realm of our online platform. EPA therefore welcomes all criticisms about our land as they serve as a barometer of our performance. However, I ask every child of our land to contribute financially or otherwise to the growth of this umbrella body while we concurrently ask for accountability on the part of its executives. This is the only way we can reduce the moral burden on our conscience when we criticize the same body.
I would very much like to retire this discourse to the issue of security which is the most paramount in the life of a man, as the saying goes that ‘even in the midst of plenty, the quantum of consumption is linearly related to the quantum of crisis in and around you.’
Fellow compatriots, I am proud to say that EPA has ceaselessly engaged our community and various security agencies on series of dialogue. Let me hasten to say and put it on record that EPA has its solid fingerprint in the current peace which we all enjoy at home today. On the assumption of office of the current executives, EPA initiated a meeting of all district traditional rulers and ward heads of our community. At the meeting, fingers were variously pointed at the then Area commander of Kogi Central as the problem of our land, as he was said to be renting guns from the police armuory to our politicians’ miscreants to perpetuate mayhem in our land.
We initiated a strong meeting with the then commissioner of police where we demanded that he be transferred from our land. It was the refusal of the command to recommend such that made us write a letter to the Inspector General of Police and National Security Adviser. The National Security Council ordered the IG to transfer him. Our appreciation goes to the then Director of Armed forces intelligence, Major General S.Y. Audu who assisted much in this regard.
We followed up with a meeting with the Commissioner of Police Alhaji Muhammed Katsina. We gave him a letter for onward transmission to the IG, demanding the construction of police post in all the dark spots where our “bad boys” take hibernation, e.g Ajaokuta road, Ageva, Ege, Usungwe etc. and indeed creation of more Police divisions in Okene. A single Police division is considered inadequate to take care of our burgeoning population and expansion.
The letter went up to the police service commission where budgetary constraint has been cited as their main hindrance. Reminders and follow-ups are still been done till date. The president of EPA personally met the then IG on this. In order to foster a good Community/Security agents relationship, the then Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Katsina and DSS directed all the DPOs and Heads of SSS in the District to hold a meeting of security agents in the Land with Ebira Leaders at the Hilltop hotel Okene. The meeting came up with frank and rewarding suggestions at addressing some of our security challenges.
Part of the resolution was to design forms to be filled by any prospective tenant(s), signed by the landlord, attested to by the Ward Head and endorsed by the Police in the area. The form is to carry relevant security information about the tenant. It was purely about knowing your neighbor.
Three things necessitated this meeting. They are:
1. The discovery of explosives in a house rented out to a tenant in Obangede.
2. As a reaction to the interview by the former GOC 1st mechanized division on the volatile security situation in the north wherein he mentioned Okene as second to Kano in the order of security volatility in the north.
3. The privileged information from the Intelligence passed on to me as President of EPA on the worry by the President of the Federal Government about Okene becoming a point from which an attack could be launched on the FCT, based on reports that Okene had become a transit point for arms from the South destined for Federal Capital Territory.
It was three days after the meeting above that there was an attack on the Deeper Life and murder of soldiers. EPA swiftly addressed a press conference and had one-on-one meetings with the Commander, Military Barrack in Lokoja; GOC 1st mechanized division in Kaduna, Director of Defense intelligence and the Chief of Army Staff. The high level personae that attended the meetings are still on ground. The meeting was to douse the impending holocaust on our land and calm the frayed nerves of the security personnel.
In addition to this meeting was a high level security meeting facilitated by our distinguished Senator, Nurudeen Abatemi and our other elected representatives in Inike town hall, Okene. This meeting was also followed up with another one with the Governor as facilitated by the same senator. The meetings came up with a lot of resolutions. EPA followed up all these meetings with a letter to the President, Chief of Army Staff and National Security Adviser, demanding for a Military Barrack in Ebiraland.
Three major reasons were cited for this request. They are:
1. To arrest the spate of violence prevailing in the area.
2. The fact that we are bounded by six communities where the borders are very porous, thereby permitting cross-border banditry.
3. Our peculiar location that makes it a commercial melting point and transportation hub between the south and north.
We have ceaselessly followed this request with series of letters to the Chief of Army Staff. Indeed, I had a call from one Brigadier General Butu of the Army headquarters drawing attention that our letter was received. Two major challenges they have in attending to our request include:
1. The fact that the Barrack in Lokoja was initially in Okene until a protest was launched for it to be moved after the civil war.
2. The fact that the Barrack in Otokiti Village, Lokoja is still in Ebiraland, making it difficult to have a second one in the same location.
We have not lost hope as I still reiterated the request to the present Commander of the Barrack in Lokoja, General Abubakar. He disclosed to me that the Army council has, in fact, approved a new Barrack for Kogi but unsure of its location. We have since followed up with another reminder to the COAS.
Some other efforts of EPA at securing peace for our Land include:
1. Recovery of cache of arms from our cemeteries which the military actively partner with us to undertake.
2. Sometimes back, there were reports made to EPA on some unholy activities of some miscreants in some quarters of our land. Two notorious places are noteworthy for these same activities, but would not be disclosed at the moment. Relevant steps are being taken by the security agents in partnership with EPA.
3. It was a measure of confidence of the security authorities on EPA to refer the crisis within the Igbo community in Ebiraland which has the propensity to dovetail onto our land to EPA for adjudication, despite the fact that the Area Commander, Commissioner of Police were already joined in a suit on the issue in a law court. Much effort is being made at resolving it as EPA has consulted with the Ohinoyi of Ebiraland and the Supreme Elder’s council in a move towards resolving the issue.
4. EPA decided to institutionalize a Supreme Elders’ Council for our land with a view to nipping in the bud all and every local issues besetting the land. This body has just gotten a new Chairman in the person of Alhaji Sule Aliu (Alias Sule Engineer) who has taken over from Adai Senator Isa Abonyi Obaro. This body is currently mediating on a lot of the issues of the land, such as Ohinoyi/Ohi crisis, Ebira/Ogori land dispute, and Ebira/Edo land dispute.
[myad]