tpiah:

Ijawman no get Ijaw news?

abi is he[b] not[/b] Ijaw?

Our news is already available:MEND and oil and the military. I suppose that is enough to keep you guys busy. So we hunt for news from other regions. Besides, we Ijaws are so good that we are hardly in the news for bad reasons.

Daughters for sale

•Cost of marriage in Igboland causes furore,but kinsmen begin amendment of list
By Chioma Igbokwe (misty4reel@yahoo.com)
Saturday, June 13, 2009

Today in Igboland, marriage has become a project for people the society see as having arrived financially. This entails that the intending groom would be ready to cater for the family of the wife should there be need for that, after he must have performed all the rites required to take a lady as wife.


•The Igbo’s traditional wedding
PHOTO: THE SUN PUBLISHING

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In most cases a junior sibling of the new wife would be attached to the new family to train. Whatever it takes, the man would be ready to foot the bills in order to be respected among the kinsmen of the in-laws.

But the duel of the husband to-be-would only get to the other commitments after he must have scaled the first hurdles. On the day of the traditional marriage, the kinsmen who might have taken laxative pills prior to the day would be in attendance to feast to their fill and probably get drunk too. Findings show that because of the endless demands made on the intending husband, traditional marriage seems to be phasing out as some parents would organize it in the city where they reside while the new wife would gladly move into the man’s house after the event.

Such factors have been responsible for low patronage of the marriage institution and a threat to the family system.

As a result, fathers are battling to give out their daughters on time or run the risk of leaving them unmarried. To achieve this they go out of their way to satisfy these kinsmen by allowing them have their way on the endless demands.

A young spouse, Chinwe, in one of such instances had to inform his embattled father to send for her whenever they were ready as her things were already in her suitor’s house. Knowing the implication and being a respectable person in the society, Chinwe’s father had to sell his land just to ensure that he was not turned into an object of ridicule by his kinsmen. With that he was able to raise N250,000 to support his in-law whose annual income was N300,000 to marry the daughter.

Igbo traditional marriage is cheap

But with the escalating demands, Chief Ukeje Eloagu, traditional ruler in Isuikwuato; now in his late 60s still insists that marriage in Igboland is cheap. He strongly disagrees with claims that the Igbo traditional marriage is expensive. He told Saturday Sun that Igbo traditional marriage is the cheapest and best so far. He blamed the kinsmen who are out to spite the family as the real problem of the system, especially when they could be controlled by the father of the bride.

History

According to Eloagu, the original marriage system was the least expensive as there was no money in circulation. “During those days all a man needed was to be a good citizen, a responsible man and if he finds a good girl of his choice, the young man will inform his parents and with a keg of palm wine and kolanuts, they will visit the family of the girl.”

Having made his intention known to the family of the bride, the groom will be asked to return for a second visit when they would allow their daughter to go home with the family of her intending husband in order to confirm whether she likes the place or not. If she returns with a positive answer, her family will send for the family of the intending couple to come for the bride price and other ceremonies. “The bride price was equal to nothing, and then it was the local type of money known as nkpoala (manila) and the ego Ayara (cowries). The whole ceremony will be full of drinks”.

Reason for change

On the sudden hike in what it takes to marry a girl, Eloagu said that it was when girls started going to school that the parents felt that the cost of marrying them should increase. Then fathers would be proud to flaunt their daughter who has managed to reach Standard Six. “It was so funny that when you come to their home they will tell you: Do you know that my daughter can now read the Bible?” It was so because those days some girls did not go to school, so whoever gets married would have the responsibility of brushing that person up to what you want her to be. But today our ignorant fathers believe that money was expended to train the child. They tend to skyrocket the cost because they feel that they have made wealth for another family.”

Misunderstanding

He explained that marriage is supposed to be a social arrangement by the kinsmen as a law but the execution of the law is strictly controlled by the parents. “If you cannot afford it, nothing prevents you from taking your wife home. You can always ignore it. In my village once you have paid the 12 shillings, four coconut heads, four wraps of ugba and potash, and also buy pomade and soap for the women, the parent of the bride should be able to say that his son in-law cannot afford the others. It is no longer mandatory for anyone to know what was given the family. It is only those who must have also milked other people’s in-laws that stand their ground when it comes to their turn. All these efforts are just to give a dog a bad name to hang it. For the love for my children, I would sponsor the marriage.”

In some cases where the parents are in penury, they will simply tell you that they do not want anything from you.

The only thing you should know is that they are there and would appreciate if you remember them. “You cannot be in affluence while your in-laws wallow in penury. There is a saying in Igbo language; “ogo bu ikwu ato” which means that your in-law is the third relation. There are isolated cases where after spending your life earnings you will be told to train one of the wife’s siblings and if possible build a house for the family. But if the parents still insist and consider your financial status, for the love you have for the girl, accept it. When the girl is in your house you can trash that promise. Meanwhile it is not a written agreement.”

Still stable

These days’ things are changing. Nobody wants a burden. The truth is that culture is dynamic and changes with time. Those who say that Igbo marriage system is expensive should remember to add that it is the most stable. It can never be disputed that is why men of different ethnic groups are trooping in to marry our daughters.

People in spite of changing economic situation should learn to cut their coat according to their cloth and do things according to their limit.

No fear

This belief and deceit by the umunna, he said has contributed to late marriages among the men especially among the Igbo. “Men get married at 40 because they are waiting for money in order to meet these unrealistic demands. Apart from companionship the main aim of getting married is to get children that would take care of you at your old age. Of what use will it be if you struggle to train them till you die.’

For those who are still hesitant in getting married because of the cost, Eloagu said it is an act of cowardice. “Marriage is a natural obligation and nobody should run away from it. Don’t be scared by those lazy men who don’t want to get married. Men must be bold. We no longer partnership. Marriage socially is the way of making children. Otherwise any child born out of marriage is a bastard.”

Our fathers should wake up and realize that those kinsmen who make marriage difficult for our children will be the one that will go behind and give out their daughters without collecting a kobo.

…Mixed reactions

Saturday Sun sought the opinion of Igbo elders on the problems of marriage that seem to get compounded by the day.

Nze Chika Nwosu (farmer)

Marriage is a thing of joy; therefore any man who decides to embark on such an institution should be ready. For the rural village dwellers, marriage is an occasion of enjoyment for us.

Let any man complaining that cost of marriage is expensive tell me if he paid close to what it took the family to bring up the girl she wants to have as wife. She is going to your house to make money for you. That young man must be an ingrate to even blackmail his father-in-law to reduce the price. Life is becoming difficult and with the state of the economy, the cost must be amended.

Ichie Obiagu (retired teacher)

Our men should be up and doing. If you allow them to marry our daughters so cheap, they will never respect them. If you check very well the most successful marriages are those that pass through this process. Give your daughter through the back door and see how she would be treated. It is a thing of joy for a man to brag that he actually spent some wealth to marry and would not hesitate to flaunt her. If you want your daughter to be seen as such, give her out for free.

It is not true that during our days it was much cheaper. You cannot compare yesterday’s value of money with that of today. When I married, I suffered and was still happy when I finally got my wife. Because of that when I want to introduce her I proudly call her Oriakum. I got married at the age of 26, so it is only a lazy man who would hold money as excuse not to get married.

Mr. Steve Echefuna (contractor)

My sister, don’t you see that we are losing our girls to strangers? If you dare reduce the price all girls will be married to foreigners. The truth is that if a prospective in-law is from our area, the cost would be reduced drastically to encourage them. Any one complaining about cost should go to other places and see. A good girl is a good girl no matter the cost she will always get a good suitor who will meet the demands on the people. It is not true the cost of marriage is discouraging men from venturing into the institution. Those complaining are people of those ethnic groups that impregnate women and take them home without paying a dime and trash them months later. They will be made to fend for themselves while another woman would be ushered in. Things are increasing so is the price for our girls.

Ichie Ononogbu (retired civil servant)

It is negotiable. It depends on the father of the bride. We’ve had cases where an in-law would promise heaven and earth and disappear with our daughter and till date he would not remit a kobo and nothing will happen. Nigerian men are lazy today. During our youthful days, if you cannot afford to pay, then you will serve the family for some years in the farm.

But our men would want to wake up and pick a ready made woman, they would wait till that child must have graduated and they will surface and want to carry our wealth to their home. That is wicked, left for me they would be made to pay tithe every month.

…The victims speak

Obinna Nduka

My sister, I am not rich enough to marry. It is not a joke to marry in our place. I knew what our in-laws paid when they came for my sister and I am not ready yet. I need my respect especially in the midst of my umunna. That is why I am yet to marry. I have seen a girl that I love but then she is from a place the cost of marriage is quite on the high side and I am not ready to sell my land to meet the requirements. If she loves me, she would be patient.

Ado Bulus (Adamawa)

Igbo women are for the rich. In my place it will not take me up to N30,000 to get married but in Igbo setting after borrowing to marry their daughter, they will also attach one of their daughters to you, insisting that you would train the child and some would demand that you build a house for them. I am talking from experience. I would have married an Imo girl, but when I got to their place to seek her hand in marriage, the list the family gave me was too much. Since I do not want to be poor the rest of my life, I called off the engagement. You will tell me that if I love her I would proceed with the marriage. But my sister, once there is no money that love will surely vanish.

Abey Edion

Igbo marriage is the most expensive in the country. In Yoruba land, once you impregnate a girl, she can move in with you as your wife. Whenever you have the money, you could call a party and celebrate with your family but the reverse is the case in Igbo. Their parents have spoilt them that it will take the grace of God for an Igbo girl to agree to date a jobless man not to talk of marriage. Take a look and you will find out that most single girls in Nigeria are Igbo, and nobody has money to waste. I can date them but for me to marry a woman to liquidate me is impossible.

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Women In Agony
June 15, 2009 10:52, 458 views

They get divorced for the flimsiest of excuses, are denied the chance to work despite attending some of the best schools in the world. This is the sobering story of women from northern Nigeria.





By Babajide Kolade-Otitoju



On 29 January, 2009, 45,000 divorced women came together in Kano under the auspices Voice of Widows, Orphans and Divorcees Association of Nigeria. They had a grand plan to stage a one-million man march against increasing spate of divorce in the state. However, the police and other security agencies, including the State Security Services, SSS received a series of petitions from elders and religious leaders in the state who expressed the fear that the protest may snowball into a big crisis if allowed to take place.Hajiya Altine Abdullahi, Chief Executive Officer of the non-governmental organisation, was pressured by the Police, SSS and Hisbah, the state agency responsible for Shariah implementation, to drop the idea. She did, but the group had drawn attention to one of the biggest social problems confronting the core North today.
tn-june-22




Hajiya Abdullahi, herself a divorcee, wants the government to look at the economic, social and religious implications of divorce, arguing that the worse victim is often the woman. According to her, women get routinely thrown out of their matrimonial homes and are exposed to danger and hardship. “They go through terrible times; they have no money to eat and cannot just resume their normal lives without the help of the society,” she explained. Members of VOWODAN told TheNEWS that they are determined to tell the world about the increasing harassment by their husbands, who threaten them with divorce at the slightest provocation. “Imagine a situation where a husband will scribble some words on a paper and ask you to leave and never return because you failed to get his meal ready on time. Do you think that is right? Do you think Allah approves of that. It is simply inhuman. In most cases, you find that in this part of Nigeria, some men divorce their women for selfish reasons without a recourse to Islamic principles,” Hajiya Aisha Ibrahim, a divorcee, intoned.




For full details, demand the 22 June, 2009, issue of TheNEWS from your vendor now.
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Yorubas will have to wait, Fasola or no Fasola. There are many untested Fasolas among the Niger Deltans (ND) and Igbos, either group of which MUST produce the next president after Yaradua. God will Keep Fasola alive till the next Yoruba turn so he will automatically be the Yoruba candidate, seeing that apart from him, there is really no other Yoruba who is capable/competent and not corrupt (I do not know if Fasola is not corrupt; we just have to wait and see). So far, all Yoruba leaders in national limelight have unfortunately, proven to be acutely corrupt and chronically incompetent.

Let's face it, PDP or not, I do not see any right think ND or Igbo voting for a Yoruba so soon. Quota system is still alive and kicking in Nigeria, remember.

NTDC to develop Ogbunike cave - As DG calls for Unity among Igbo
By Wale Ojo-Lanre just back from Dubai - updated: Wednesday 10-06-2009


DG NTDC Otunba Segun Runsewe,
receiving HRH Igwe John Ositadinma
Umenyiora (Okpala Igwu), who visited the
Tourism village recently.The Director-General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe, has promised that the corporation would send experts to Ogbunike in Anambra State with a view to developing the cave in the area. He disclosed this recently in Abuja while playing host to the royal fathers from the area who paid him a visit in his office at Tourism Village.

Otunba Runsewe stressed that “If there is one zone or area that has not really felt the impact of tourism, it is the East, despite the abundant tourism potentials in the region”. In the words of the NTDC boss, “we must understand that this country must move forward, therefore, the era of deceiving ourselves is over”.

The NTDC, helmsman expatiated further that “There is no way you can talk of tourism without having something to show for it. Your coming here today is special”.

According to the DG, “we have wasted over 20 years behind in tourism which, of course, explains why the present NTDC management is proactive and unrelenting in its efforts to move the sector forward as fast as possible.”

In the words of the DG, “you have brought a fantastic product to us”. He assured his royal guests that the NTDC would address the developmental issues related to the cave without delay. He further affirmed that when the cave is fully developed, it would provide jobs for the youth in the area. According to him, “you cannot reduce crime without providing employment”.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, who is also the Igwe of Ogbunike, HRH, Igwe John Ositadinma “Umenyiova, Ezedioramma 1 of Ogbunike, unformed the NTDC boss that they were in his office to solicit his assistance on the development of the cave. The Igwe affirmed that the DG was a pragmatic leader and had been able to effect positive changes in the tourism sector within a short space of time. His words, “I have seen that you are a man of action, I have seen what you are doing the in- Tourism sector”.

The royal father, who described the Ogbunike cave as unique and as the only type in the whole of West Africa, stressed that if well developed, it would generate a lot of foreign exchange for the country.

He explained that the cave has an indelible ink which mortalises one’s name just by touching the sands to write anything on the wall. He further explained that during the dry season, the cave usually experiences constant rain fall.

The Igwe further explained that the Cave also has a pool beside it with so many tunnels and channels. He advised that the NTDC should give the cave a bit of African flavour while developing it.

The Igwe of Ogbunike was accompanied on the visit by members of his palace chiefs.
In another development, the Director General of the Nigerian Tourism Development Corporation, Otunba Olusegun Runsewe has charged traditional rulers in the South East geo-political zone to always maintain unity among various Igbo communities. The NTDC boss made this known recently when he received in audience prominent traditional rulers from South-East, who paid him a courtesy visit at the Tourism Village , Abuja .

Otunba Runsewe recalled with regret the unfortunate incident that marred the 2007 Iwaiji cultural festival at Igboukwu, which was truncated due to disagreement between some traditional rulers outside Igboukwu. He explained that if unity was achieved in the zone, it would attract tremendous cultural and tourism development in the communities.

According to him, “I have very tremendous respect for Igbo communities. I am very proud to work with this community”, he stressed.

He described the Idu II of Igboukwu, HRM Igwe (Dr.) Martin Nwafor Eze, as a unique leader because of his interest for his people. Otunba Runsewe stressed that the corporation had big plans for the cultural festival.

The NTDC helmsman assured his royal guests from the East that very soon, the corporation would come out with a masquerade festival which would be targeted at attracting tourists to the zone.

According to him: “The time has come for us to celebrate our own”. As part of NTDC’s contribution to the 2009 Igboukwu Yam cultural festival, the NTDC boss promised that the corporation would donate trophies to the festival, build crafts and arts centres for local weaving and hair plaiting to empower the people, where the corporation would also produce a special documentary on Anambra State which would be donated to the community and, in addition, he said there would be a special branding of the festival this year.

Earlier, the leader of the delegation, HRM Igwe Martin Nwafor Eze Idu II of Igboukwu in Aguata Local government Area of Anambra State, assured the NTDC boss that the people were more united than before and that the ugly experience of last year would not repeat itself. He added that the presence of a representatives from Ambassador Ralph Uwechue, the President of Ohaneze Ndigbo, was a pointer to the fact that this year’s Iwaji Igbo would be celebrated and embraced by all Igbos.

His Royal Majesty commended NTDC for the completion of the National Yam House which had been commissioned and donated to the community by the Corporation.

According to the Idu II, “we are here to inform you that we are ready to host the world again on August, 27 to 29, 2009 at National Yam House, Igboukwu for the most prestigious Iwaji Igbo National Festival”. He explained that they had made arrangement for the hosting of over 13 states of Nigeria that have yam culture.

He further stated that this year’s festival would feature a lot of competitions among various groups such as “Tourism Friendly Town , Best Choral Group, Best Palm Wine Tapper, Best Farmer and best Wrestler, among others.

The leader of the delegation further revealed that great sites would be visited within the festival period, such as the National Museums, National Gallery of Art, Omogho white Lake , Oweerezukala Wonderful Fall and Cave, and a host of others.

The royal delegation to the NTDC headquarters included the Eze Igbo of Lagos and his counterpart in Abuja as well as the Special Assistant to the President General, Ohaneze Ndigbo, Mr Azuka Osakwe.

W’Bank: Ondo Has Worst Health Indices
•To inject $3.8m
From James Sowole in Akure, 06.15.2009

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The World Bank at the weekend presented a disturbing report sheet of the health sector of Ondo State and described the state as having one of the worst health indices in Nigeria.
The scorecard over the performance of the state health programmes was presented in Akure, the state capital, by the leader of the World Bank Health System Development Project II, Mrs. Anne Okigbo-Fisher, who led a team on a courtesy call on Governor Olusegun Mimiko.
The team leader lamented that despite over N1billion expended by the state government on the first phase of the project, there was no appreciable impact on the lives of the people.
According to her, "Ondo State actually has one of the worst health indices in this zone, which we found very surprising, seeing that the level of commitment of the people we met at the hospital, the doctors. We're wondering why it has such a really bad health for the whole zone".
However, the World Bank officer promised that that in its bid to boost healthcare delivery system in the state, the institution would inject $3.8 million into the system under its Health System Development Programme II.
While promising that the organisation would partner with the state government in the areas of curbing infant and maternal morbidity and improving health system, Okigbo-Fisher explained that the team was in the state to review the state's performance during the first phase of the project and the plan by the present administration to improve on the performance in order to achieve the goals of the programme. Responding, Governor Mimiko, who expressed regret over the poor health condition in the state as observed by World Bank team, disclosed that his administration would commence community health insurance scheme in 60 communities, with three centers as pilot, adding that management of health information and aggressive advocacy at the community level would be given priority.
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The World Bank has accused the Ondo State government of mismanaging over N1billion health intervention fund.

Speaking in Akure when she led a World Bank Health System Development Project II team on a visit to Governor Olusegun Mimiko, an official, Mrs. Anne Okigbo-Fisher, lamented that despite over N1billion expended by the state government on the first phase of the project, there was no appreciable impact on the lives of the people.

Her words:"Ondo State actually has one of the worst health indexes in this zone, which we found very surprising. Seeing the level of commitment of the people we met at the hospital, the doctors, we’re wondering why it has such a really bad health for the whole zone."

To boost health care delivery system in Ondo State, Mrs Okigbo-Fisher said the World Bank would inject $3.8 million into the system under its Health System Development Programme II.

Mrs. Okigbo-Fisher, who assured Mimiko of the bank’s partnership with the state government in curbing infant and maternal morbidity, said the team would review the state’s performance during the first phase of the project to improve on its performance in the next phase.

The World Bank official expressed confidence in Mimiko’s ability to transform the health sector, considering his experience.

Replying, Mimiko regretted the poor health condition as observed by the World Bank team, adding that his administration would begin Community Health Insurance Scheme in 60 communities, with three centres as pilot, adding that management of health information and aggressive advocacy at the community level would be prioritised.

The governor noted that the state government would set up counterpart fund in collaboration with local governments to encourage the councils to boost health care at the grassroots.

He said more doctors and health personnel would be employed in the local government areas.

Mimiko spoke of his administration’s determination to combat infant and maternal mortality by strengthening the primary health care unit of the Ministry of Health.

He said the government will also train and retrain health workers and improve facilities at the state’s schools of nursing, midwivery and health technology.

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Benue, Yobe, Ekiti, others top unemployment rate
By Yusuf Alli Published Today News Rating: Unrated
Nine of the 36 states have high unemployment rate, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has said.

The NBS evaluation is contained in its Annual Abstract of Statistics 2008, which was obtained yesterday by The Nation in Abuja.

According to the Director-General/Chief Executive of the NBS, Dr. Vincent Akinyosoye, the “Annual Abstract of Statistics, is the standard summary of data on society, economy and organisations in Nigeria.

“The publication is a convenient reference source for statistical and related information.”

The 2008 report features unemployment figures from 2003 to 2007.

According to the 445-page report, the states with unemployment rate above 15 per cent are mostly from the Northern part.

The states are: Benue (67.4%); Yobe (19.9); Federal Capital Territory (FCT) (16.4%); Niger (17.0%); Kwara (16.4%), Kogi (16.5%); Jigawa (17.4%); Ekiti (15.6%) and Delta (18.9%).

The rating of other states in percentage is as follows: Abia(10.9); Adamawa (11.9); Akwa Ibom (13.5); Anambra (11.1); Bauchi (7.3); Bayelsa (6.9); Borno (7.; Cross  River(11.; Ebonyi (11.5); Edo (5.1);  Gombe (10.5); Imo(7.6); and Enugu(11.5).
There are Kaduna (5.9); Kano (12.7); Katsina (5.; Kebbi (11.; Lagos (10.2); Nasarawa (7.6); Ogun (3.9); Ondo (5.; Osun (6.3); Oyo (6.5); Plateau (8.7); Rivers (4.7); Sokoto (12.1); Taraba (5.9); and Zamfara (12..
The report explains that while Lagos (from15.5% to 10,2%), Rivers (from 25.0 to 4.7), Bayelsa (from 16.0 to 4.9), Adamawa and Taraba among others, recorded a decline in their unemployment rates, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Plateau, Borno, Delta, Kogi, Kwara and Niger increased theirs.

At the national level, the report said more than 10 million Nigerians (representing 14.6 per cent) were unemployed as at the end of 2007.

On age grade, the report indicated that at the national level 30.7 % of those between 15 and 24 years are unemployed; 8.5% for the 25-44 category; 4.5% for Nigerians within 45-59 age bracket; those between 60-64 years recorded 7.1%; and 6.8% for the old ones from 65 to 70 years.

Although 144, 800 unemployed youths were trained in various states between 2002 and 2006 under the National Open Apprenticeship Scheme (NOAS), only 1,480 were provided tools and equipment to establish and run their personal businesses.

The NBS gave further details on how the statistics was arrived at.

The report added: “Unemployment estimation adopted by Nigeria is based on 39 hours of work in a week, rather than the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition of one-hour work in a week.

“Other data cover employment creation programmes undertaken by the National Directorate of Employment, employment in the civil service, registered unemployment and vacancies declared, trade disputes, among others.”

Concerning industrial disputes, the NBS claimed that the nation recorded 250 in 2007 compared to 77 in 2003 and 36 in 2004.
It said 79 of the 250 industrial disputes in 2007 resulted in strikes.

North plots total takeover - Wants IGP, head of service, clerk of NASS positions
Taiwo Adisa, Group Politics Editor
Thursday, June 11, 2009

AN intense battle has been kickstarted in Abuja between Northern political topshots and leaders of the South-East over the appointment of a replacement for the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr. Mike Okiro.

Two prominent names have emerged in the race to succeed Okiro, with Mr. Ogbonna Onovo (South-East) and John Ahmadu, both deputy inspectors general of police (DIGs).



Onovo was to have taken over from former IG, Mr. Sunday Ehindero, until President Umaru Yar’Adua announced the choice of Okiro. Okiro is due to retire in a matter of weeks and top political hands have kickstarted the move for his succession.



Sources in Abuja told the Nigerian Tribune that a political think-thank, which recently met in Bauchi and Abuja, had perfected the way through which the North would take the position of the governor of Central Bank (CBN), the seat of the IG and the Head of Service.



In fact, it was gathered that the group actually worked on four top positions, which they believed must go to the North. The fourth seat is that of the head of the National Assembly bureaucracy, the Clerk of the National Assembly (CNA).



While the first three seats would be vacant this year, the position of the CNA will not be available until January 2010. A source said that since the seat of the CBN governor had been captured by the North, the remaining job was to launch massive attacks to capture the remaining seats; the IGP, Head of Service and the Clerk of the National Assembly.



The Northern group plotting to get a northerner to replace Okiro is said to be pushing for a clean sweep of the four positions, including the National Assembly top job, which has been held by the North since the inauguration of the National Assembly at Nigeria’s independence in 1960.



It was gathered that some quiet but coordinated efforts were ongoing as regards the post of the Head of Service, as the seat of the current holder, Ms. Ama Pepple, is up for grabs.



But it was gathered that some influential Northerners had visited the Presidency in the last two weeks to make cases for the appointment of their favoured candidates.



It was gathered that the Northern caucus had insisted that the time was ripe for Yar’Adua to appoint John Ahmadu, as the IGP and shift the position to the North.



But some other Southerners were said to have argued that what is important in the appointment of the IGP for the country should not be where the man comes from but parameters that guarantee unity and the competence of the person being appointed.



It was gathered that those pushing for Ahmadu were insisting that the position should be taken to the North and that Nigerians would not raise eyebrows since Ahmadu would also be a Christian, taking over from another Christian.



A source said that although Onovo was said to have alienated himself from some leaders who should make cases for him before the president, as some of those are now close allies of the President, some of them have continued to plead that Onovo should still be given the mantle of leadership based on the seniority rule.



“Those topshots have also argued that since Ahmadu is younger than Onovo and still has up to five years to serve, while Onovo has two years, Onovo should be allowed to take over now while Ahmadu would still be eligible when he retires in two years,” a source said on Wednesday.



It was further gathered that the president has been closely following all the arguments, while he has not committed himself to any of the groups so far.



The President is said to be leaving the decision till late as he did with the position of the CBN governor. But it was gathered that another group of lobbyists who want Okiro’s tenure renewed have not foreclosed their chances as the bid was initially mooted by some topshots in the administration.

Who made you a police over ''us''

What is his name? Most likely an Akin, Ojo or Bayo. We know dem and their thief thief mentality

Why Soludo was dropped –Northern Group
From MURPHY GANAGANA, Abuja
Friday, June 5, 2009

The Northern Patriotic Front (NPF) yesterday disclosed the underlying factor which militated against the re-appointment of the immediate past Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo for a second term, despite his widely applauded reforms in the banking sector.


Soludo
•Photo: Sun News Publishing

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NPF National Chairman, Alhaji Ali Abacha, told Daily Sun in an exclusive interview in Abuja, that pressure was indeed, mounted on President Umaru Yar’Adua by formidable northern groups and power brokers in ensuring that Soludo was not given a second term of office. Their grievance was based on the belief by a cross section of northerners that most of his financial policies, especially relating to foreign exchange, were not favourable to the north.

According to Abacha, “Soludo introduced some policies that were too harsh for the North. So, when his tenure expired, we said there was no need for extension, that they should get somebody from the North who is competent. And because most of our people are not educated as they are basically farmers, we wanted somebody who would give priority attention to agriculture.”

While admitting that the erstwhile CBN boss exhibited competence in the discharge of his duties, the NPF however, insisted that most of his policies further pauperized the northern masses.

Said Abacha: “If you take the foreign exchange which has a large number of northerners involved in the business, he introduced a lot of stringent conditions and most of our people in the trade are not educated. They faced a tough times during his five year tenure. The policies are only good for advanced countries, not in Nigeria where education is still low and poverty still high, especially in the North”.

Reacting to allegations that President Yar’Adua play the ethnic card particularly with the appointment of core members of his economic team the Minister of Finance, Presidential Economic Adviser, Minister for National Planning, and the Governor of CBN, among others, the NPF said the appointments were made by President Yar’Adua in his quest for credible people to move the nation forward, adding that “there is nothing wrong in Yar’Adua appointing northerners in key positions”.

The NPF chairman spoke further on various appointments made so far by President Yar’Adua, against the backdrop of the group’s position at a recent meeting in Abuja . His words: “The Northern Patriotic Front rose from its last weekly meeting in Abuja where it X-rayed the actions of the President on various appointments made within the period as well as other national issues. The NPF commends the President for the confirmation of the appointment of Dr. Bernard Shaw Nwadialo as the Comptroller General of Customs. The meeting commended the President for his decisions and debunked the insinuation by some unpatriotic persons accusing him of being sectional in his appointments.

The NPF urges the President to continue in his efforts towards taking Nigeria to greater height, and hopes that by the appointment, the Comptroller General of Customs will use the opportunity to turn around the Nigeria Customs Service for the attainment of Vision 20-2020”

Abacha, who however, conceded that President Yar’Adua’s seven-point agenda is too bogus for effective implementation urged him to reduce his programmes to a manageable level. “If he had concentrated only on agriculture and power, we would have achieved a lot in the past two years of his administration,” he noted.

Presidency Keeps Mum on New CBN Governor
By Yemi Adebowale, 05.30.2009

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The five-year tenure of Central Bank Governor, Chukwuma Soludo ended last night with President Umaru Yar’Adua neither extending the tenure nor naming a successor.
Mum was the word at the presidency yesterday when THISDAY made enquiries about the future of Soludo and the likelihood of a successor.
A presidency source said that the inability to either extend Soludo’s tenure or appoint a successor was caused by “unprecedented pressure on Yar’Adua by all sorts of interest groups.”
The source said the president is suddenly having second thoughts about the managing director of First Bank of Nigeria Plc, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, who he had earlier offered the job.
The source confirmed that Sanusi was actually invited by Yar’Adua and offered the job and that security checks were subsequently carried out.
He continued: “The president has suddenly developed cold feet over (Sanusi) because holes were punctured in his choice for the job at CBN.
“Critics have argued that it would be unfair to have the finance minister, national planning minister and CBN governor all from the same state – Kano.”
The presidency official further explained that those opposed to the return of Soludo also mounted pressure on the president, arguing that his first term was crisis-ridden.
They point to the banking consolidation exercise that is still being challenged in court by three banks whose licenses were withdrawn, and the failed naira re-denomination exercise.
Pro-Soludo lobbyists have, however, countered that had Soludo not implemented the consolidation programme, several banks would have collapsed under the current economic climate.
The source added that it looks like the president has bowed to pressure from the two camps and “is now looking for a new candidate to head the apex bank.”
Many Nigerians are however worried about the president’s inability to take a decision on the issue and the impact on the financial services sector, the economy and the signals it would send to the investment community over the indecisiveness of this administration.
“This is not good for our economy. It does not portray us as a serious nation, if we can’t take such a simple decision as announcing a CBN governor.
“Definitely, the outside world will not take us seriously. It might even lead to capital flight,” a banker with a new generation bank said last night.
Meanwhile, some of the new names that have been thrown up in the race for CBN governor include: Obadiah Mailafia, a former CBN deputy governor; Bisi Ogunjobi, vice president of African Development Bank; the Accountant General of the Federation, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwabo; and Jibrin Isa, an executive director of Afribank Plc.

So the parasites are willing and interested in violating the constitution just to hold on to power. Hm! Nigeria is indeed a basket case.

Jonathan can’t take over
• The North will not allow vice president to replace Yar’Adua, constitution or no constitution — Daboh
From LUCKY NWANKWERE, Abuja
Saturday, May 30, 2009


Godwin Daboh
Photo: Sun News Publishing
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Although the 1999 constitution says that in the event of the president’s death or he resigns or removed from office the vice president takes over government, there are indications that the North would not allow this to happen if President Umar Musa Yar’Adua, at any time within his tenure, cannot continue in office.

Revealing this to editors and members of the management of The Sun, eminent politician and chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Dr. Godwin Daboh Adzuana, said the North would never allow Vice President Goodluck Jonathan to replace Yar’Adua if the latter has to quit office halfway in his government.

He said that if Yar’Adua cannot continue in office, there would be an interim government pending when a northerner is selected as president.

He said; “The North cannot allow Jonathan to complete the term of Yar’Adua. The position here is that there will be an interim government within which somebody from the North will be elected to complete Yar’Adua’s term. We are not giving one day of this administration to the South.”
Dr. Daboh spoke on this and other things.

A large number of Nigerians are still angry about Ekiti. What really happened in Ekiti?
What happened in Ekiti, I will say, is the same thing that happened in 1982. Umaru Shinkafi, who was the Director General of the State Security Services (SSS), told me the reason the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) was going to win the election. In an emerging democracy, the party that wins an election is the party in control of the mechanics of control.

It is not whether you are liked by the electorate or not. The political party that is in control of the mechanics of control always wins an election in an emerging democracy like Nigeria.

The Ekiti event was unfortunate because I have seen some of the figures. Like in a particular ward, where there were about 1,900 voters, 4, 000 voted. I believe very clearly that there is no way we can sustain democracy if we do not follow honesty in the discharge of our respective responsibilities. It is very sad. Even if the PDP had lost Ekiti State, it is still in control of the country. You will be talking of PDP not controlling about eight states. The rest are controlled by PDP. I wish the tactics adopted by both parties were different to what they had adopted to handle the election.

Unfortunately, it happened the way it is. I am scared and getting very scared because I have heard some people talk. I have heard them make observations. If we do not stop some of the things we are doing democracy is threatened. We do not want, after these 10 years of struggling, to lay a strong political foundation, to go back to square one.

I want to say that what happened in Ekiti must never be allowed to repeat itself. I’m a foundation member of PDP and I wanted PDP to win elections, but sometimes when you see that the indexes are clear that you may not win an election, you have to accept it. You can’t win against all odds. That is wrong. For me, I am saying that the PDP is in absolute control, even if it loses 10 states in the next election. As you know very well, the opposition has collapsed in most states.

In Benue State, there is no opposition. Every body has joined the government and is supporting the government. You have epileptic occurrences of the opposition in two local governments, Kwande and Oturpo. The opposition has collapsed in Benue and so it is in most states.

My appeal to my colleagues is that we must endeavour not to attract any disruption of the democratic process. What happened in Ekiti must never happen again. I’m happy that the opposition is going to court to seek redress. I have somehow found confidence in the judiciary. I have seen, over the last nine months, positive judicial pronouncements in courts, which have brought confidence back in the judiciary. I’m urging the judiciary to continue to discharge its duties in the form and formats it has been going on. Let’s see what they decide on Ekiti. I am sure justice will be done in the end.

Nigeria will be celebrating 10 years of democracy. Is the assessment of Ekiti not the assessment of our performance in the last 10 years?
My own assessment is that we have made great efforts. Remember, we were subjected to military rule for so many decades and then we are back in a democracy. In a country where you have stable democracy, things are done properly. Look at what happened in England last week. The speaker of the House of Commons had to resign because of £2, 000, but are you not surprised that in Nigeria you have people who are facing charges and are ministers?

We must bring respectability to governance. We must not allow personal interest to becloud our sense of justice. I am warning that corruption is getting higher and higher in Nigeria more than ever before. It is extremely disturbing. A youth corps member was given a contract of N50million. How you do that? She had no company. She looked for a company and brought somebody from Kano, who was given that job. This girl made much money. We must begin to do things that are right and fair and things that posterity can look at and say yes, this generation tried. But I’m very worried over what is happening now and our tomorrow.

Your generation is still in power and control.
Honestly, my generation has failed. I have, for instance, been involved in one way or the other with government since 1966, when we staged the counter-coup, but I have not seen many changes. The people who come from very poor background become billionaires immediately they come into government and the society looks at them and accept as well as admire them.

It shouldn’t be. If a whole speaker of the House of Commons could resign because he collected £2,000, what is happening here? Everyday you take the newspapers and you read about a governor getting 100-count charge of fraud involving billions of naira. When you go to function you see this same person, who is assumed to have corruptly enriched himself sitting on the stand. What doe it mean? If you are accused of an offence it presumed that you have an explanation to make until you are clarified. You may be exonerated at the end. We must entrench probity. If we want the democracy today to survive, we must change our methodology of doing things. The political class must change.

I must have to shamefully admit that in 10 years of democracy we have failed. However, we have succeeded in some cases. I am a foundation member of PDP. The PDP will be in power for the next 20 years because we are in control of the mechanics of control. The opposition is not in a position to put its act together. If the opposition is able to put its act together and forget its differences and unite, they could snatch power from PDP. It has happened in many countries of the world.

However, as I said earlier the person who wins an election in Nigeria is the political party in control of the machines of control and that is what will continue to happen until we Nigerians decide that enough is enough.

My generation must apologise for entrenching rigging in the Nigerian polity. We made that mistake. We should allow the will of the people to prevail. Unfortunately, this generation that is trying to take over from us is more vicious, more corrupt than ourselves. I can see the indexes. They are a desperate generation, but we have no choice but to hand over power to them.

Is that why your generation has failed to effect the electoral reform you promised us?
The electoral reforms are would to be effected. The president has sent the Uwais report to the National Assembly. You see the reaction of the National Assembly on the day the report was brought. There is definitely going to be a change. Nobody can stop electoral reforms. There much be a change. It is when you are effecting a change that you have equity and fairness. What we need to carry Nigeria forward is equity and fairness, not might. We the founding fathers of PDP have been pushed aside. The people in control of PDP today are not the founding fathers of PDP.

In 1998, when we met and resolved to form PDP, we intended it to become the political party that will be comparable to the Democratic Party in America or the conservative party in England. That was the vision we had. The original founding fathers have all been kicked aside. Joiners are the people in control of the PDP at all strata. I believe that something is going to happen. One thing I know is that Nigeria must change, whether we like it or not.

What happened to President Umar Yar’Adua? When he came up, some of us thought he was going to make a significant change.
I know President Yar’Adua to be a very cautious human being. Particularly, when you are dealing with an environment, like Nigeria, you have to adopt caution as a weapon to protect yourself. Quiet honestly, some of the things the government has done, I wish they were done differently. I know that he has been putting so many things in place, which he will start implementing from his third year in office. A lot of committees were set up by the Federal Government silently, in almost all aspects of our national lives.

From June, the government is going to introduce a lot of dynamic changes that are really going to positively affect Nigerians. President Yar’Adua has not been very healthy and this has affected his performance. As you realize that most of the times he ought to be at a function, he is represented by somebody. I can assure you that President Yar’Adua is going to surprise Nigerians, starting from his third year. He will not disappoint Nigerians.

Does it mean he was not prepared if he was just setting up committees for the past two years, expecting to start performing in the third year? Does it mean he will be there for eight years?
The position here is that Yar’Adua inherited a disjointed administration that didn’t have focus and direction. He has to fix these things. It is taking time to, first of all, remove the rot. You can see that a lot of ways things are happening differently. Something when you rent a house, when you move in you discover there no water, toilet and many things are missing. That is the kind of environment that Yar’Adua found himself. Fundamental things are going to happen in the next one year and that will have a profound positive effect on the whole country. I agree with you that he has been slow.

Would you then endorse Yar’Adua for the second term because you said earlier he is not healthy?
In 1999, we agreed that there would be a rotation of North-South. The South took eight years and the North is going to take eight years. That is not negotiable. I want to say that very soon the president is going to tell Nigerians whether he has the capacity to go on or not. If Yar’Adua decides to go on, the North will allow him to continue, but if, on the other hand, he knows that his health would not allow him to go on, the North will decide and give Nigerians an acceptable candidate.

The only person, who can be sold by the North, both internationally and nationwide, is Ibrahim Babangida. He will step in if Yar’Adua is not going. Atiku’s time has expired because he can’t return to the PDP. Only the PDP can win the presidency. No other political party can win because we are on the ground and in control of the mechanic of control.

Do you honestly believe IBB will win election in this country?
We have carried out survey in the last two weeks. We have results coming in from the six political zones. The results show that over 70 per cent of Nigerians are ready to have IBB back in Aso Rock.

What exactly is happening in Benue State as there seems to be a realignment of political forces?
We have a political leader of Benue State, in the person of Rt. Hon. Gabriel Suswan. We had a former leader, George Akume. Obviously, you know when there is a transfer of power from one group to another group, there is bound to be a form of reaction and that is what has happened. In Benue State now, we have absolute political harmony and peace. The whole of Benue State has decided that the present government must have a second tenure in 2011.

We met and reexamined his activities in the last two years and discovered that he has affected the lives of everybody. You go to Makurdi today, all the streets are tarred; the same with Oturkpo that has never had any tarred road. You go to Gboko, the headquarters of Tiv people; the streets are tarred. There is rural electrification. They are communities that had never been linked before, but they are now being linked. There is peace and harmony among the elders. There is generational change. The people in Suswan administration are performing wonderfully. We met two weeks ago and all the elders said that the young man should have a second tenure. Gabriel Suswan is going to have a second term. This is not negotiable. Nobody is coming to challenge him in the PDP.

Michael Aondoakaa will not contest for the governorship. No PDP person from zone A, where the governorship is from will come out to contest. The Idomas are waiting for Apa State. Apa State, hopefully, will be created very soon. The Tiv people are not prepared to concede the governorship to the Idomas at this stage, simply because we are 70 per cent of the population and in a democracy the majority always carry the vote. The Idomas have got the president of the Senate; they have got the SSG. We the Tiv people will remain in control of the government house until 2015. Thereafter, we give it to zone C, which is Idoma speaking area, if Apa State has not been created.

Do you think it is possible to create state under this environment, even as the South East has a genuine case?
We have enough states for the country. I don’t think we need more states. Why the South East does not have more states is because of disunity. The Igbo people are the strongest people in Nigeria. I travelled to Cameroon border. In one village, there were 58 settlements. Out of these, 41 were Igbo families. If the Igbo were united, they would be carrying the torch for Nigeria. Unfortunately, it is not so. Who is the Igbo leader today? Every of them wants to be a leader instead of them to choose one person and say this is our leader. In Benue State, we have got a leader in that young man. He has brought vision and development to the state and we don’t want a change until 2015.

The Igbo, under Ohanaeze, should meet and present a leader, somebody who can speak for them. We in Tiv land have found out that we have not been able to make progress because of disunity and we are trying to put our act together, forgive one another and select a leader, because since the death of J.S. Tarka, we have never had any leader in Tiv land. You need somebody who will be a beacon for each of these major ethnic groups. That’s why the minorities are in a better position than us.

Also, the Hausa Fulani, who is their leader today? Likewise the Yoruba. This is a national problem.
However, in Orji Kalu we have seen the glimpses of a leader because he has positively touched the majority of the people. That is what leadership is all about. He didn’t inherit anything, like some of us. But today, by dint of handwork, he has achieved so much.

For Benue, we have a leader that has proved he is a leader. We have somebody who we are working with; we have a young man who is respecting elders and a young man who is sure of second term. Benue is one of the few states that the governor is sure of second term. The Senate president and the governor are working harmoniously.

Agreed that the North will have eight years under normal circumstances. However, if for any reason, God forbid, that Yar’Adua becomes indisposed, will the North allow Jonathan to continue?
The North cannot allow Jonathan to complete the term of Yar’Adua. The position here is that there will be an interim government within which somebody from the North will be elected to complete Yar’Adua’s term. We are not giving one day of this administration to the South. We will only allow Jonathan to be there till a replacement is found. It is not a constitutional matter; it is fairness.

Is it not inviting anarchy if for any reason Yar’Adua announces today that in stepping down because of ill-health, and the vice president does not step in, in line with the constitution?
Jonathan will be there for a short time. The North will only allow Jonathan pending when a replacement for Yar’Adua is found. I am not talking of probability, because such a thing can never happen and I don’t want to even think of it. Yar’Adua has recovered completely. He was sick, quite all right. Don’t you all get sick?

Are you in support of military option as Niger Delta?
I believe that this government has made a lot of efforts to prevent what is happening now. For the first time a Ministry of Niger Delta was created to address the injustice that the people of Niger Delta had suffered. But there are these young men who don’t want dialogue but confrontation. The people in Niger Delta are less than five million and they are confronting 140 million people. Government had to react, but I wish it was not this way because I have seen pictures and it is horrible. I’m appealing that the government and the military to find a peaceful way out of this. It is unfortunate.

I cannot condemn it because Nigerians were briefed before the action were taken. The military said it cannot wait to see its people being kidnapped, tortured and killed. I’m appealing to the people of the Niger Delta. They should know that the Niger Delta Ministry is a platform for them to resolve all their grievances. Let us stop the arms conflict, go into dialogue and find justice in Niger Delta. There is going to be peace. You can only have peace where there is equity, justice and fairness for everybody.

Religious Riot Erupts In Jigawa PDF Print E-mail
Written by Muh'd Zangina Kura, Dutse
Friday, 29 May 2009 02:58

A religious riot erupted yesterday in Sara town, Gwaram Local Government Area of Jigawa State when some youths staged a demonstration over an alleged blasphemous publication against the personality of the Holy Prophet Muhammad.

The incident, which happened in the early hours of the day, led to the burning down of a police station and a Toyota Hiace bus, while several people sustained various degrees of injury.

An eyewitness who spoke to LEADERSHIP on condition of anonymity narrated that the incident was sparked by a blasphemous publication against the prophet, which was circulated in the town.

He said the publication, whose source nobody knew, provoked the people of the town, who are 99% Muslim.

A non-Muslim man, who was also a non-indigene of the town, was accused of being behind the publication.

In his response to a discussion, he was said to have uttered some words which expressed his support for the publication. He was also alleged to have insulted the prophet.

The eyewitness further revealed that the utterances of this non-Muslim provoked the group and they thought he might have a hand in the publication. They chased him in an attempt to kill him.

When the man saw the group were after him, he was said to have rushed to the nearby police station where he sought protection.

As news of the incident spread, hundreds of youths staged a demonstration against the protection given to the man and demanded that the police hand him over to them.

Unknown to the demonstrators, the policemen had already whisked him out of the town. When the demonstrators learnt the police were not ready to bring out the person, they started stoning the police station.

As the number of the demonstrators overpowered the few policemen at the station, the men ran away from the station and the mob took it over.

The eyewitness further recounted that when the demonstrators failed to find the accused person, they set the station ablaze and also burnt down the bus owned by the Gwaram Local Government Area, which was parked in the premises.

He added that many people were injured in the pandemonium that ensued, but no life was lost.

Speaking to LEADERSHIP, the Chairman of Gwaram Local Government Area, Alhaji Bala Sule Kila, confirmed the incident, saying the situation had been brought under control.

He added that the council had summoned an emergency security meeting with all security agents attached to the local government, with a view to taking an action that would prevent the occurrence of such incident in future.

Kila added that according to the report available to him nobody was injured or life lost in the crisis. But he declined comment on the remote causes of the incident.

When LEADERSHIP contacted the police public relations officer of the state police command, he said the state commissioner of police had ordered that all press men should suspend publication on the crisis until they were addressed by the commissioner on the issue.

Who becomes Unizik VC?
• 30 Professors apply
• Governing Council walks tight rope
• Petitions trail excercise
From GABRIEL DIKE, Osogbo
Thursday, May 28, 2009

The race for the post of the Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK) in Awka, Anambra State has reached the final stage with a total of 30 Professors jostling for the position. They are all flaunting intimidating academic credentials and management background making the task of selecting any of them by the Governing Council of the institution a tough assignment.



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The selection exercise which was started three weeks ago by the Governing Council of UNIZIK would, no doubt, be an uphill task for the council committee to accomplish.

Aside the problem of selecting the most qualified out of the 30 academic staff that have applied for the plum job, the members of the council are also faced with the task of contending with the avalanche of petitions from some interested parties against some of the contestants as well as the council members themselves.

Daily Sun learnt from a source that some petitions have been forwarded to the Minister of Education and the Presidency complaining against alleged plot by members of the council to manipulate the exercise to favour a candidate of their choice and not on merit while more have also been written to undermine the chances of some the applicants by those who do not want them.

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the university, Chief Senas Ukpana made allusion to this unhealthy situation when on Wednesday, May 6, 2009, he inaugurated a search team in respect of the vacant post of VC as stipulated under Section 3(b) of the Universities’ Law, 1999 constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Chief Ukpana was represented by Ibidapo Awojolu, member of the council at the inauguration of the five-member search team headed by Senator C.K. Awoyelu as Chairman while others include, Reverend Father J. O.Oguejiofor, Venerable (Professor) Ben C. Okeke (Senate representatives), Professor Godwin Onu and Dr Ify Anolue (Congregation representatives).

The council chairman disclosed that a lot of controversy had trailed the exercise and stressed that if not properly handled it would mar the exercise adding that the consequence would definitely affect the growth of the university. “Council notes with displeasure the unfortunate dimension which the issue of the VC’s appointment has taken. Petitions have been written and the issue has degenerated to press controversy. Let me assure the public that the university council cannot be compromised”.

To douse the tension, Chief Ukpana pledged that the council members would be above board in handling the VC selection exercise while stating that it would be conducted with “openness, impartiality, transparency and providing a level playing field for the 24 Professors”.

According to him, any misconduct on the part of council could mar its reputation and stall the march of the university to greatness and emphasized that for confidence building, stability of the institution and trust, the council would appoint a VC promptly without much delay. Noting that the choice of a substantive VC for the university would not be localized but would be open to any qualified Professor from any part of the country and that same criteria would be applied to the appointment of other principal officers of UNIZIK so as to reflect the Federal character principle.

As at Tuesday, May12, 2009 when our Correspondent visited the university, a total of the 30 Professors had applied for the job of UNIZIK VC, 10 of the academic staff are members of the university community, one application was received from one Professor Sunny Nwankwo from University of East London while the rest applicants are lecturers in other universities across the country.

Investigations by Daily Sun revealed that the contest for the VC’s post is fiercer among the contestants from within the university. Though there is no open campaigns going on any where, the underground networking by the applicants and their supporters have thrown the institution into an uneasy calm.

Our Correspondent noticed that the members of the university are now discussing their preferred candidates in clusters and hushed tones. But the greatest source of worry is the rumour making rounds that because the Presidency has delegated the powers to interview and appoint the candidate for the VC to the Governing Council, some desperate contestants and their sponsors are trying to induce members of the council with money to select their candidate.

Thus worry among staff of the university now is that rather than merit other factors such as undue influence and money might dictate the tone in arriving at the possible Professor for appointment of a substantive VC of the institution.

It was further gathered that even the issue of age which was not earlier made as a criteria when the advertisement for application for the vacant position was made, is now been introduced by the council members, thus some of the applicants now have a better chance of clinching the plum post than the others. As it is now the policy allowed the council members to conduct the screening, interview and submit the names of three persons to the Presidency who would approve one as a substantive VC.

It would be recalled that the VC position have been occupied on Acting capacity by Professor Boniface Egboka since 2008 when the former VC’s tenure, Professor Ilochi Okafor, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) expired . Among the front runners from the university include the acting VC, Professor Boniface Egboka, incumbent VC of Anambra State University, Uli, Professor Paul Orajiaka, former Deputy VC under Professor Ilochi, Professor Augustine Ebeatu as well as the former Dean of Management Science, Professor Ben Osisioma.

Among some staff Professor Egboka is believed to be a good material for the VC position because of the manner he brought peace and maintained the infrastructure in the university which the immediate past VC Professor Ilochi Okafor introduced. Besides he has a track record having been in a public office as a former Commissioner of Works in Anambra State and has also been a consultant to many international institutions including Swedish institutions on water resource management.

On his own part, Professor Orajaka is rated as one of the most qualified for the post and it is believed that he came first in the last selection exercise in 2003 but lost to Professor Ilochi because of political intrigues. His accomplishment at Anambra State University, Uli where he has been the VC in the past four years stand him out as the most qualified for the position.

However, Professor Ebeatu is believed by many staff of UNIZIK to have an edge over other contestants on the ground of his antecedents in both academic and public office as his intimidating academic records according to them speaks volume. He has the rare academic records of having supervised 18 Ph.D students, many Masters students who have successfully completed their programmes, as well as having in his possession 103 publications both in International and local journals and books.

Professor Ebeatu has been in the university system for the past 30 years, a graduate of University of Ibadan, lecturer at Usman Danfodio University, Sokoto 1980-1994 before transferring his service to UNIZIK where he was DVC for four years under the immediate past VC Professor Okafor. He played an active role in the enthronement of excellent academic policies and infrastructural development that mark out that administration and is seen as a possible winner of the race. While Professor Osisioma, on his own part is known to be a highly principled, tolerant and God fearing academic.

Though the Governing Council has given an assurance that it is well disposed to selecting any Professor from any part of the country as the substantive VC of the institution there is, however, doubt of the possibility of the members implementing such policy. It is not likely that the appointment can be made outside applicants from Anambra State going by the background of origin of those who have occupied the position since the university was created.

Records available revealed that all the past three substantive VC’s starting from the pioneer VC, Professor Festus Nwakor, Professor Pita Ejiofor and Professor Ilochi Okafor including the current acting VC Professor Boniface Egboka are indigenes of the state. Thus it is an uphill task for Chief Ukpana led council to successfully carry out any plan to appoint any person outside Anambra State to that position.

If all things go well, it is expected that by Wednesday, May 27 the forth substantive VC of the university would have emerged. The past VC of the institution was Professor Festus Nwakor (pioneer) followed by Professor Pita Ejiofor and the immediate past Professor Ilochi Okafor (SAN), current governorship aspirant under the platform of People Democratic Party (PDP) in the forthcoming gubernatorial election schedule early next year.

A lecturer in the Theatre Arts Department of the university, Dr Alex Asigbo expressed confidence in the ability of the council members to provide a level playing field for all the 24 Professors and enthrone transparency in process of the appointment of a substantive VC that would take the university to a greater height.

Dr Asigbo, however, cautioned that selecting a candidate from within or outside the university has its advantages and disadvantages and in his opinion “it is better to choose a person from within the university”. According to him, somebody who had been with the institution would not need to spend time familiarizing himself with the university community and the intrigues within stressing that an outsider would first of all take a long time to understudy the environment before setting to work.

According to him, this kind of development will not be the best option for the university which is still at its developing status adding that: “I think what would happen is that UNIZIK would be better at the end of this VC selection because of the quality of individuals aspiring for the position. They are persons with intimidating antecedents in academic and management background. We are only praying God to give us the best amongst them especially one with the fear of God who will not dabble into the mucky waters of distractive intrigues that would set the university backward”. While staff of the university were expecting the new VC to resume office on May 27 as earlier announced by the governing counicl, strong indications has emerged that the job of selecting from among the 24 Professors has become an uphill task to accomplish as the Council which earlier slated the date for assumption of office of the VC has now changed the date.

Daily Sun learnt from the university’s Registrar and Secretary to the council’s committee in charge of the screening of the applicants for the VC contest, Nkoli Onyechi that the reason for the shift was due to a major conference holding in the institution and the democracy-day celebration thus staff of the university are worried over the postponement.

Investigations revealed that the staff saw the shift of date as a result of the high level political intrigues that have characterized the VC selection exercise. Though nobody in the institution would express his or her apprehension openly, they would however not hesitate in telling anybody they could trust that there are many under hand manipulations on the VCship selection process. The Registrar however dismissed such fears as unreasonable.

Said she: “The shift in our schedules for the selection and appointment of the substantive VC for the University is due to two reasons: one, we have an international conference which is holding in our University and we are expecting the Minister so the whole members of management, all the professors, the deans are going to the conference because we are expecting people from outside. This conference was earlier scheduled but it escaped the memory of the members of the Governing Council when we slated the programme for this VC appointment exercise”.

The UNIZIK Registrar stated that the schedule for the VC exercise fell on this year’s Democracy-day celebration date and because some members of the Governing Council are politicians who would want to go to their constituencies to mark the occasion it becomes necessary that the exercise is deferred. But Daily Sun gathered that the number of applicants for the VC race which as at Tuesday, May 12, 2009 stood at 24 has now increased to 30.

The university would enjoy the new Federal Government policy as against the past when the council conducts the interview for the applicants and at the end of it forwards names of at least three successful applicants to the Visitor, who exercises the final power in appointing from any of the three nominees. The visitor in the current policy has delegated the powers of appointing the substantive VC to the Governing Council.

Following the development there is tension and fear among staff of the institution that the postponement of the date for the conclusion of the VC selection and appointment from May 27 would create a vacuum in the office of the VC in the university because the second six-months’ tenure of the acting VC, Professor Boniface Egboka would expire on Monday, May 25.

The expectations was that a substantive VC would have been appointed by May 27 thereby saving the institution the trouble of having a vacuum in that position particularly considering the fact that the current circular on the appointment of an acting VC as release by the Education Ministry makes it a policy that a person appointed on acting capacity as a VC can only function for six months after which the appointment can be renewed for the same period of six-months.

Based on the fact that the acting VC, Professor Egboka is one of the front-runners in the post, the question on the lips of many staff is: “will the Governing Council renew the appointment of Egboka as the acting VC now that it will not be possible for a substantive to be appointed when his tenure on acting capacity expires on May 25 or is there going to be a vacuum in the VC position?”.

But the UNIZIK Registrar has an answer to this as according to her there would be no vacuum. She explained that already a process for the appointment of a substantive VC had begun in the University. Besides she explained that the letter which was forwarded to her a year ago from the Ministry of Education stated clealy that the person who was occupying the position as the deputy Vice Chancellor administration should act as VC “ , pending the reconstitution of the Governing Council which is expected to commence he appointment of a substantive VC”. And stating that it is this process that the council has currently commenced the registrar declared, “Certainly, I speak on authority that before middle of June (2009) we should have been through and a substantive VC appointed”.

It was gathered that the council has already short-listed about seven of the applicant for the interview as part of the process the successful candidates according to the council’s rating were: Professors Ben Osisioma, Boniface Egboka, Sunny Nwankwo, Ikpeze, Paul Orajaka and Augustine Ebeatu. However the registrar denied that any of the candidates had been short-listed for the interview as according to her such information was a rumor.

“We have not concluded the process of short listing. Any thing you hear about short listing is speculation”, she added. But she declined to reveal the names of the applicants. She only confirmed that the applicants cut across Professors from Federal Universities across the six geopolitical zones of the country. And contrary to the fear being entertained that the Governing Council might have adopted age as a barrier for some of the contestants the Registrar explained that age is never an issue to the extent of being used as a barrier against the possible selection of any of the applicants.

She explained that the Universities’ law did not make age a barrier for any contestant for appointment to the VC of the University. She however stated, “It (age) can only be accepted as an opinion, or advice of suggestion which council is free to accept or reject”.

Denimination factor has become one of the major constraints on the council in carrying out the exercise to a successful conclusion. There appear to be an established tradition in the institution where the appointment of the VC rotate between Anglican and Catholic faithful. It is believed that since the immediate past VC, Prof. Ilochi Okafor is an Anglican, the next VC ought not to be an Anglican.

The council has stressed that UNIZIK because of its federal status ought not to be influenced by the appointment of its VC by such sentiments as any person who is qualified from any part of the country can be appointed as the VC irrespective of his religion, tribe or belief. The basic parameter accessing the contestant according to Onyechi includes, number of publications, number of years as a Professor, work experience, contribution to both national and community development among others.

Among the academic and non academic staff of the university, Professors Ebeatu and Orajaka ranked top on likely successor to Professor Okafor but majority are routing for Professor Ebeatu because of his track records and his relationship with every staff of the university. Already the staff are looking forward to see who clinches the post after the screening exercise.

http://www.independentngonline.com/news/tfpg/article01

==========For Sanusi and Bello s,ource noted that the odds against them include the Federal Character Act, which stipulates a geo-political balance in key appointments, as well as their little international exposure compared with Soludo and Ogunjobi.

During the recent 50th anniversary celebration by the CBN, top government officials, including Yar'Adua, praised Soludo for the proactive steps he took in the management of the economy.
Such steps, especially the reform of the financial sector, they agree, have helped to stave the economy from a recession, as is now common across the developed economies, just as the number of banks could have reduced to no more than three or four.

Many had thought that Soludo's second term was a fait accompli, especially following his appointment as a member of the world's best 10 economists by the World Bank to help find an antidote to the foraging global economic turmoil that seems to have defied several theories.

While there are those who believe that Soludo, in the past five years, has steered the economy aright, especially with banks' consolidation which has made the sector resilient against all odds, there are those who accuse him of creating an uneven playing field for banks.

Erastus Akingbola, Intercontinental Bank Chief Executive Officer, who is also the President and Chairman Council of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN), noted that "the relative resilience and minimal damage to the banking system and the economy by the global meltdown contagion was due to the proactive actions of the CBN."

He explained that without the aggressive recapitalisation all Nigerian banks would have collapsed by now, and "the economy would have drifted into a deep recession long ago."

The resilience, he believes, is sustainable "as long as the global financial crisis lasts, barring any radical departure from the monetary policy management style currently in place."

From Holland to Nigeria on bike: Two Dutchmen on tour of Africa say, 'Nigeria security agencies are polite'; Call on Government to redeem Nigeria's image; Serve as petrol attendants in Nigeria

By Wale ojo Lanre


Feits and Dennis on their third hand
bikes which have covered over
20,000 kilometres When Feits Engelaer and Dennis Vioet, two motor mechanics in Holland, expressed their intention to transverse Africa to meet and see the people in their natural environment, using their motorcycles as means of transportation, their friends and families thought they were having a weird dream.

“You must be joking. Africa is a dead end, where everything is wrong and upside down,” a friend told Feits.

“You people are trying to commit suicide. You, going on your bike to Africa? It is definitely a suicide mission,” said another to Dennis.

“They could not believe us, "said Feits, because “some of us have this horrible perception about Africa.”

“In fact, we were specifically warned not to visit Nigeria at all,” Dennis revealed.

“When they sensed our determination to tour Africa on our bikes right from our resident in Holland, some of our friends specifically warned us to steer clear of Nigeria."

Determined to see Africa, the two Dutch- men left Spain on Sunday 15 March, 2009.
Throughout the over 20,000 kilometres journey from Spain to Nigeria, transversing the deserts seeing Tangier, Mimuo, Mali, Senegal, Lome, Nigeria, they were off the bike only when they were to cross the Mediterranean sea.

What baffled the tourists was the information they got about Nigeria, even within the African continent. “We nearly botched the Nigeria side trip, but our determination to see Nigeria overpowered the negative image we got not only from Holland, but also from Nigeria’s neighbouring countries. In some of these West African countries visited, we were told in plain language not to visit Nigeria. They said it is either we would be kidnapped, harmed, robbed, harassed or put into jail by the corrupt law enforcement agencies.”

Feits and Dennis said that these negative comments rather than demoralising them further fuelled their curiosity about Nigeria.

“We then more than before decided to have the so called "Nigerian experience.”

At the Ketu border in Ogun State, “we never bargained for what we got at the Ketu border post in Ogun State. We were expecting to meet a set of hostile, corrupt and lazy officers who would be over us demanding for bribes, tips and undue gratification, rather we got a crop of decent officers who were attending to a multitude of travellers.”

From the border down to Abeokuta, the motorcyclist said that they were impressed by the warmth and hospitality displayed by Nigerians towards them. “This is not what we were expecting,” said Dennis.

After arriving at Abeokuta, Dennis revealed that he got a call and an e-mail from home. “My brother called that we should leave Nigeria immediately because the news had it that there was war in Warri. He thought the crisis in Warri was affecting the whole of the country.”

He said he did not blame his brother but “I let him realised that contrary to the shade of news he read or heard that the crisis in Warri was within a state or a local government and not that Nigeria was at war.”

They said that “so far, so good we are bold to say that Nigeria is save for tourists and foreigners."

Feits pointed out: “Our passion to embark on the bike ride of Africa was due to our curiosity to see Africans in their true, real and pure nature not through the polluted news and distorted pictures being painted about African countries, particularly Nigeria.”

Dennis stressed thus: “There is nothing serious wrong with Nigeria. It is the same symptoms which always bedevil a big country like this. What Nigeria needs is a consistent image machine that will concern itself ensure that the world gets the true picture of what is going on here.”

Commenting on the police, “we have never experienced harassment from the security men. They have been very civil, polite and nice.”

Feits and Dennis have become the friends of a Nigerian whom they even served as petrol attendant's at his station.

“We even met a Nigerian who we made friend with and we volunteered to serve as petrol attendant in his gas station,” Feits disclosed.

And for a day, at Okat Petrol Station on Lagos-Ibadan expressway, motorists who patronised the gas station were surprised to see the two white men serving as petrol attendants. While Dennis was on the petrol nozzle, Feits was cleaning the windscreen of customers' cars.

“Nigerians are funny people. They were astonished seeing us working as attendants at a petrol station. We were happy doing it.”

At another village in Benin, the tourists joined the villagers at drawing water from the well.

“Our journey to Africa most importantly, Nigeria, is a desire come true. We have been able to see and know Nigeria and Nigerians in their true colour. There is a gulf of difference, a big one like that of how Nigeria and its wonderful people are being portrayed outside and the reality on ground.

They also revealed that, “we are heading for Calabar, enroute Cameroon. We will visit Tinapa to make up the days we will be spending, procuring visa to the Cameroon.”

Talking about the bike, the duo said “Our bikes are not custom made. We bought them third-hand. And we have not done any serious work on the engine, except changing our tyres.”

Since the journey from Spain to Nigeria, “it was only Feits' bike that had its tyres changed seven times, while my bike had no problem at all,” Dennis revealed.

They promised to comeback to Nigeria after they must have completed their tour of Africa on bike.

“We shall definitely come back to Nigeria. It is a lovely country. The government only needs to work on the image of the country.”

Nigeria: Two Years On, A Few Cheers, But More Worries
By a Special Correspondent
28 May 2001

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Lagos, Nigeria — "Celebration is thanksgiving, and I feel there is something to be thankful about."

President Olusegun Obasanjo was speaking Sunday on a live television and radio media show called 'Democracy Dividends, sponsored by the government to showcase its achievements in the two years it has been power since May 29, 1999.

In a country that military dictatorship had brought to its knees, the return of democracy two years ago held out a glowing prospect. Nigerians had suffered a huge range of problems, from human rights abuses, including the lack of freedom of expression, to dilapidated social infrastructure.

Two years on, few doubt that there is something to celebrate in Nigeria. Even the broadcast of the television show, Obasanjo noted, was one of the dividends. Three years ago, he said, such an event would have been unthinkable.

Since coming to power, the president has regularly appeared on the show, allowing a panel of journalists to interview him on national and international issues and taking calls from members of the public.

Sunday's programme was unusual because, instead of journalists asking the questions, Obasanjo had a new set of interviewers - all politicians. The panel was intended to present a regional balance: Chekwas Okorie from the southeast, Ayo Adebanjo from the southwest, and Paul Unongo from the Middle Belt. Two others scheduled to be part of the team did not make it - G. G. Darah, from the oil-rich Niger Delta, and a representative of the Arewa Consultative Forum, from the north.

Paul Unongo is a former Minister of Power and Steel, in the elected government of Shehu Shagari, which took over in 1979 from Obasanjo (then a military ruler leaving office to make way for the second republic). Ayo Adebanjo represents Afenifere, the pan-Yoruba Cultural Organisation, while Okorie represents Ohaneze, which groups the Ibos of the southeast.

Obasanjo used the show to list the benefits that Nigerians have reaped in the past two years, in particular, the improvement in power output. Currently, power generation in Nigeria is around 2,400 megawatts (MW). Considering where the country was two years ago, the president said, Nigerians must appreciate this improvement. Power generation was as low as 1,500 MW, in a nation with installed capacity to generate 6000 MW, and an estimated average demand of 4,000 MW.

This was so because most of the generating facilities (which were built by Obasanjo’s military government in the late 'seventies) had been run into the ground by successive governments. At the Egbim Thermal Plant, (built by the government of General Ibrahim Babangida), only two out of its six units were working when Obasanjo came into office.

Obasanjo says, however, that Nigerians’ anguish over the 'epileptic' power supply will be over by the end of the year. He has set December 2001, as the target date for the National Electric Power Authority (Nepa), Nigeria’s power utility, to generate 4,000 MW of power.

If it happens, it will be good news for Nigerians. For now, both individuals and businesses continue to groan under the burden of expensive individual solutions to the constant power cuts. Power from Nepa is for now regarded as an alternative power source. Most businesses now now rely on generating sets. Those that run on diesel are expensive both to acquire and run. As Paul Unongo put it, if an industrialist builds a five million Naira factory, they currently have to invest another 15 million Naira to install the generators to power the plant.

For President Obasanjo, the encounter proved a little rattling. At one point, during the discussion on why power generation still remained so low, the president found himself answering in a fury: " I cannot produce power overnight!"

Citing another 'democracy dividend', Obasanjo pointed out that industrial capacity utilisation has increased from around 25 percent two years ago, to about 45 percent now. He noted that this varied according to the industry. However, Chekwas Okorie sought to differ with the president, pointing out that some factories had actually shut down in the last two years. Pressed to give reasons for such closures, he cited difficulties with electricity supply, among others.

While Nigerians wait for the arrival of regular power supply, they also have to grapple with the rising cost of basic food items. The price of garri, one of Nigeria’s staples made from cassava, has suddenly risen beyond the reach of ordinary people. "Garri was the common man’s food, [but] no longer," observed Paul Unongo. The price of garri has risen by 154 percent, to N2,800, ($1=113 naira) for a measure that cost about 1,100 naira at the beginning of the year.

Obasanjo blamed the sudden hike in the price of garri and other basic food items on crop failure last season in some northern states of Nigeria, and in neighbouring Niger Republic. The government had responded by sending grain to the affected areas, including across the border to Niger Republic. The gesture to Niger was aimed at preventing the arrival of its citizens into Nigeria, which could aggravate the situation in the north. The result of these measures, said the president, was that "we were short of grains."

While Nigerians worry about this problem, their leader says it will not last for long. "I see this as a temporary bitter pill that we have to swallow," said the president. The government’s attempts last month to import beans from Burkina Faso provoked a public outcry, which nipped that effort in the bud.
Obasanjo said the current high price of food in Nigeria should however augur well for both the farmer and the agricultural sector as a whole. The high prices, he said, should attract farmers to cultivate more land, "so that agriculture will be taken seriously." After his retirement from the army in 1979, Obasanjo went into farming, establishing Obasanjo Farms Nigeria, in southwest Ogun state, his home state.

But the current price spiral is bound to reduce further the economic well-being of the average Nigerian. With more than 60 percent of its nationals now living below the poverty line (defined as those living on less than a dollar a day), Nigeria is now listed as one of the least developed countries.

That status is at variance with Nigeria's position as an oil-producing and exporting nation. In the past two years, oil prices on the international market have exceeded the government’s own benchmark prices used for budgeting. But as Adebanjo noted, this unexpected revenue has not significantly benefited Nigerians.

Obasanjo blamed this partly on the mono-product nature of the Nigerian economy. Oil revenue accounts for as much as 90 percent of the foreign exchange earnings for the country, and about 85 percent of government’s revenue. "Very few of Nigerian’s are involved in the real sector of the economy," Obasanjo noted.

The currency, the Naira, has been under pressure in the past two months, with the exchange rate on the official market reaching 115 naira to a dollar. But on the parallel market, the exchange rate rose to over 140 to a dollar. Obasanjo blamed this on frivolous importation. He said unrestricted importing of goods into the country (by his count, there were now 72 brands of toothpaste being imported into Nigeria) had led to excessive demand for foreign exchange.

He said a new measure introduced by the Nigeria Customs Service to undertake 100 percent inspection of containers arriving at Nigeria’s seaports is yielding results. Through this measure, it’s possible for government to uncover frivolous items imported in the guise of essential material. But the measure has also led to congestion at the ports, as some of the importers have abandoned their goods, afraid of being caught by the government.

So who was to blame for the disappointments of the past two years? Okorie offered an Igbo proverb: If someone goes to a barber for a hair cut but comes home with his head mutilated, the question is, what went wrong? Was the barber not good or was the blade blunt? The message was clear, and Obasanjo thanked Okorie for the proverb, stressing that he took full responsibility for the actions of this government, including those of his advisers.

He clearly felt dogged by the past, however. Pressed by Paul Unongo for a deeper explanation for the continuing slide of the naira, Obasanjo said that if Unongo persisted, "You would be making me account for the sins of my grandfathers."

The challenge is to take the 'democracy dividend' beyond token gains. While the government brandishes what it says has been achieved in two years, and asks for time to do more, Nigerians are in a hurry; and Obasanjo and his government know, with an election due in 2003, that they don't have much time.

Nigeria: Inside Illela's Booming Grains and Livestock Trade
Rakiya.a.muhammad
12 May 2009

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Illela, a border town in Sokoto State in the North west of Nigeria has over the years gained prominence as a hub in the international trade of grains and livestock.

The market which is about 100 kilometres from the state capital shares a common border with the Niger Republic and its strategic position as an import and export centre has enhanced growth potential for grains and livestock trade across the sub region.

Its strong potential as centre for grain and livestock import and export can be seen in the large quantity of grains and livestock which are exchanged at the weekly market. This is more so during the harvesting season. Though some quantity of grains are brought from other places to the market, Illela itself boasts of a number of agro raw materials such as rice, maize, wheat, livestock, vegetable and fishery.

The Chairman of Illela local government, Alhaji Aliyu Ahmed described Illela local government environment as a commercial nerve centre of the region. He told Daily Trust that "the market was established centuries ago and attracts traders from all over Nigeria and even outside .Mostly at illela international market activities starts ,Wednesdays, Thursday and Friday , then on Sunday we have the major weekly business, we call it international because traders come from even Ghana, Niger Chad,Burkina faso"

He noted that the existence of the market within the local government has transformed most of the residents to businessmen, adding that the Council has generated a substantial revenue from the market. He pointed out that apart from Sokoto North, Sokoto south and Wamakko, revenue generation was high compared to other local government areas in Sokoto state. He said that the council makes about N200, 000 and above every week.

Daily Trust observed that the grain section of the Illela international market is distinct from that of livestock.

The livestock section which is situated on a very large expanse of land, hosts thousands of livestock weekly, including cattle, goats, and camels.

The chairman of the livestock dealers association, Usman Luggu confessed that he couldn't estimate the number of livestock that is brought for the weekly business, stressing that mostly cows in their numbers are brought to the market on foot; and they come from far and near. He puts the price of cows between N60-N150, 000, noting that there has been notable increase in prices of cattle recently.

Alhaji Luggu complained of inadequate space at the market and called for expansion to accommodate more stalls.

At the grain section of the Illela market, Alhaji Musa Illela, who is the chairman grain traders association spoke on the activities of the traders.

He said while they get beans from Niger Republic the grains like guinea corn, millet, are brought from Kaduna, Kano, Katsina and Sokoto, noting that many people come from different part of Nigeria and Niger to buy from the market.

He added that about 11,000bags of assorted grains are traded at the market every week

Alhaji Musa Illela explained that there has been an increase in the prices of foodstuff at the market.

For instance, he said a bag of beans now sells at N9, 500 it was N7, 500 some two months back, Similarly, cost of transporting a bag of beans to Ibadan was now N400 up fromN250 while it is now N220 from N120 to Kaduna, Kano, Katsina respectively.

Alhaji Illela blamed the situation on the current exchange rate of naira against other currencies, adding that it was affecting the volume of trade between Nigeria and Republic of Niger. Because of the fall of naira.

"The economic situation has affected volume of trade in the market, before we sell between 6,000 and 7,000 bags of grains per week but now it is in the range of 3,000 -4, 000 per week"

He stressed the need for the three tiers of government in the country to buy large quantities of grains from farmers in order to encourage them to produce more.

Daily Trust gathered that a number of people who trade at the Illela International market have spent decades in going there for business. Alhaji Kabiru Shehu is one of the grain dealers.

He said he has spent over three decades in the grain business and travels from Ibadan, the Oyo state capital every week to buy beans from the international market.

According to him he buys about 150 bags every week from Illela and takes it to his base at Bodiga in Ibadan where he sells them.

Alhaji Shehu explained that he preferred Illela because of the quality of beans which he buys at relatively low rate."The beans I buy from here are usually very much appreciated by my customers back in Ibadan", he added.

Kabiru also expressed serious concern on the condition of the noting that because of inadequate stalls whenever it rains the market becomes muddy and people had to abandoned their goods to look for shelter.

Alhaji Malam Aliyu, another trader at the Illela international market, though said they enjoy cordial business relationship with traders from Niger, however wants the three tier of government to collaborate in ensuring that the market is enhanced.

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"The market as an international centre, affects the federal government, state and local government and should come together to boost it."

Aliyu was happy with the online banking which he said has substainly reduced the rate at which they lose their money to robbers, adding that it has increased their business activities at the market. No doubt Illela international market faces serious problem of lack of structure and unconducive site. The Chairman of the local government has acknowledged this problem. He however gave assurance that the present administration of Alhaji Aliyu Magatakarda Wamakko has promised to establish a modern market within illela which would be sited close to border area. "This plan was made by this present governor and I believe it is planning to implement the promise he made. He enthused.

In addition to garri, palm oil and plantains from the East and Niger Delta also go up North. As of today, it may interest you to note that beans and corn are imported from Niger Republic and elsewhere, and then distributed in Nigeria, beginning from the north. So next time you see those food-bearing trucks on the highways, be rest assured that many originate from across the border and not from northern Nigeria

James Nwoye Adichie: Nigeria's first professor of statistics
By Biyi Afonja

THE most celebrated group of people in Nigeria are political office holders, business tycoons no matter their source of wealth and occasionally top executives and professionals. J.N.Adichie does not fall into any of the enumerated categories. He, like many other academic giants in Nigeria remain, by and large, unsung heroes. I believe that Nigerians should learn to celebrate people like him along with several other distinguished retired and active academic geniuses while they are still alive. Such celebrations will no doubt inspire our youths, who by and large, through the corrupting influence of our society do not seem to believe in academia. I am writing this piece to celebrate Adichie.

James Nwoye Adichie was born on March 1, 1932 in Abba, Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State. After passing the Advanced Level General Certificate of Education ('A' level GCE) examinations in Pure mathematics, Applied mathematics, English and Latin, he was admitted into the University College Ibadan (UCI) now the University of Ibadan (UI) in 1957 to read mathematics. In those days when the UCI was a college of the University of London and was the only university institution in Nigeria, it was a remarkable achievement for a student to be admitted into the College. He graduated B.A. Mathematics of the University of London in 1960 among the top three students in a class of 13. At that time a student was awarded the B.A. degree if his/her A-Level subject combination included arts subjects in addition to the mathematics subject; and the B.Sc degree if his/her subjects combination consisted of mathematics and science subjects.

Soon after graduating, he went on to lecture first at the Nigerian College of Science and Technology, Enugu, and later at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) until September 1963, when he proceeded to the prestigious University of California at Berkeley, USA. This is one of the greatest centres of statistical excellence in the USA if not in the world. In a record time of three years he earned a Ph.D. degree in statistics in 1966, the first Nigerian to do so. He promptly returned to the UNN and 10 years later, in October 1976, he was promoted a Professor of Statistics, the first of his kind in Nigeria.

Adichie's main area of research is Non-Parametric Methods of Statistical Analysis. These methods seek to develop new methods of analysis that are valid under realistic assumptions. He was such a renowned scholar in this field that he was invited by some leading British universities to deliver a series of lectures on his work. The universities are Cambridge, London (Imperial College), Aberystwyth, Birmingham, Sheffield, and Glasgow. At different points in his brilliant academic career, he was a visiting fellow at the University of Sheffield, England and a visiting professor at the San Diego State University, California, U.S.A.

Apart from delivering many brilliant academic papers at several workshops, conferences and seminars locally and abroad, Adichie has published numerous scholarly papers in reputable learned journals and has served as a reviewer for some of them including the Journal of the American Statistical Association, the Annals of Mathematical Statistics, the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A, etc. He is a member of many learned societies including the International Statistical Institute (ISI) of which he was the first Nigerian to be elected a full ordinary member in 1978; the Institute of Mathematical Statistics, the Mathematical Association of Nigeria of which he was once the general secretary, to mention a few. Incidentally, the ISI with headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands, is the world apex statistical organization. He was the first editor of the Journal of the Statistical Association of Nigeria and at one time an associate editor of the ABACUS - Journal of the Mathematical Association of Nigeria.

At the UNN where he was a distinguished teacher of statistics for 33 years, he was the supervisor of the first post-graduate student to obtain a master's degree of the UNN in 1971 and in 1973; helped in the establishment of the department of statistics, one of the first two such departments in Nigeria, the other one being that of the UI. As the first head of that department, Adichie spent the next six years nurturing it to enviable heights. He was again made the head of the department from 1985-1988. He served as the Dean of the Faculty of Physical Sciences and as the Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the Nsukka Campus of the university.

As an elected member of Council of the University, he made tremendous contributions to the progress of the university through his activities in the various committees of the Council and some other non-Council Committees. His activities are not limited to the UNN. He served as external examiner in mathematics and statistics at various Nigerian universities. Apart from his contribution to the development of statistics in the Nigerian university system, he played a key role in the development of the National Mathematics Centre (NMC). He, with three others, prepared for the Federal Government in 1987/88 a proposal for setting up the NMC. He later served as member of a Representative Group of Mathematical Scientists that met the Technical Expert Committee Visitation Panel for the upgrading of the NMC to the status of an International Centre for Excellence. He served the Centre in various capacities. He was a member of its academic board, a member of two of its strategic committees, and professor and coordinator of its statistics programme, He organised the Centre's first Foundation Post-Graduate Course on mathematical statistics and the first Foundation Post-Graduate Course on Exact and Asymptotic Statistical Inference.

Adichie took to the international fora his passion for giving statistical education a pride of place in the curricula of Nigerian and indeed of African countries. On several occasions, he delivered papers relating to Statistical education and training not only in Nigeria but also in the whole of Africa. .In the administration of statistics in the Nigerian public service, Adichie's name will also feature prominently. He was a member of the National Advisory Council on Statistics and served as the Chairman of the Committee for the Reorganisation of the Federal Office of Statistics (FOS) which is now called the National Bureau of Statistics.

It is interesting to note that Adichie is not the only one in his family to have scored a first in his chosen career. Ifeoma, his wife of 46 years was the first female registrar of the UNN while his fifth child, Chimamanda, is the first young female Nigerian literary voice to be world-acclaimed. She has received many international awards and nominations for her literary works. Having demonstrated the main reason for writing about Adichie - that of giving honour to whom honour is due, I have two other reasons which, though, may appear personal, do speak volumes about the personality and integrity of the man. .As already mentioned, Adichie and I first met and became friends at the UCI. In fact, one of our lecturers, Chike Obi, who became famous for being the first Nigerian holder of a doctorate degree in mathematics, used to call us brothers because he thought that we looked so much alike,

Since graduation, we have crossed each other's path at the professional level on various occasions. I will mention only two of them. Adichie was one of the sponsors of my nomination in 1980 for election as a member of the ISI. With my election, I became the second Nigerian to be so honoured, he having been elected in 1978.

When I was the Chief Statistical Training Adviser at the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) in Addis Ababa, he requested some information needed for the preparation of a paper to be presented at an international conference on the teaching of statistics. I gladly obliged. Lo and behold, he included my name as a co-author of the paper. What a mark of intellectual integrity? My last, but by no means the least important reason is that every now and then I get embarrassed when I am introduced in public as the first Nigerian Professor of Statistics. Let Nigerians now be informed - James Nwoye Adichie is the first Nigerian Professor of Statistics! He is now retired and lives in Nsukka.

Afonja, the second Nigerian professor of statistics, lives in Abeokuta, Ogun State

http://www.ngrguardiannews.com/editorial_opinion/article03//indexn2_html?pdate=280509&ptitle=James%20Nwoye%20Adichie:%20Nigeria's%20first%20professor%20of%20statistics

bblacky:

@ poster, d title is different 4rm d whole story; dat incident has been dominant in every part of the state in this federation, so its not only in Lagos, d worst of such inhumanity has happend in d eastern part not too long ago. rephrase dat title,

The term Lagosians does not suggest original indigenes of Lagos. Everyone who lives and contributes to the development of Lagos is a Lagosian. I was once a Lagosian, having lived there for the first 20 years of my life. Now I am no longer one. So, although the names of the culprits of this particular incidence sound Yoruba, I am only interested in the venue of its occurence (Lagos). If you have a similar incidence hapenning elsewhere like you noted, please bring it forward.

Fulani: Banished by desert, rejected by their countrymen
Written by Ahmad Salkida in Maiduguri
Monday, 25 May 2009

The story of nomadic Fulani who recently left Zamfara for Damboa in Borno state in search of pasture for their cattle, only to be rejected by their new hosts.


Last week a large number of Fulani nomads drove into Damboa local government area in Borno state to settle. They were crammed into two separate trailers with some of their livestock. Many of the people who encountered these Fulani concluded that they are the victims of the much criticised decision by the Plateau State Government to expel the Fulani in the area, and send them back to the far north where they came from.

When this reporter undertook a trip to where the nomads settled, about 10 kilometres along the Chibok road in Damboa, they said they were never in the Plateau, but like their fellow kinsmen that were humiliated in the Plateau, their motives are the same. They came far away from Zamfara to the southern part of Borno, in search of water and grass for their livestock.

According to the nomads in Damboa, they also contemplated the idea of settling in the middle belt, but a surge in hostilities between them and the people in the area in recent years, made them to settle in the less fertile soil of southern Borno. The reasons the nomads gave for this migration, which this reporter corroborated in the Department of Geography at the University of Maiduguri, are captured thus:


The far north, which can be considered as northern Borno, Yobe, Jigawa and most parts of the north western Nigeria, where the Fulani tribe are predominant are now in its first decade without substantial moisture in its soil. Drought has perpetuated itself in most part of these areas. As the temperature level increases, the soil gets hotter and dries out, the relative humidity decreases which in turn, impede the formation of rain clouds. Major rivers like the Lake Chad that has supported livestock, and serves as a natural barrier to the encroaching desert in West Africa, shrinks to its barest minimum.

According to one account, rivers in these parts of the country have turned to sand, water ponds are no more than infected mud-holes, about 80 percent of the livestock, cattle, goats, sheep and camels have given up life and dropped to die on the parched, cracked earth. For the Fulani that consider the well being of their livestock’s as a religious duty ,or even more important than their lives, to migrate to where there is food is non negotiable ,and that was why they were in the Plateau, in Damboa and in many other places towards the south for greener pastures.


Interestingly, one week after their arrival in Damboa the Fulani are not sure if they are welcome or not, if they will stay, or if they will be forced out of Damboa. “When they came, they did not notify the authorities in Damboa, they did not notify anyone or get the consent of the village head, and district head of the area. In fact they never followed due process, and I am having a meeting with the head of the security agencies and traditional leaders, before I will take the next step, ”

“What I can say now is we are worried about their presence, why did they come… I have had enough problems with the Fulani and I am not ready to take more.” These are the words of Alhaji Lawan Kuru, the executive chairman of Damboa LGA, who is equally considering banishing the Fulani from his area. His only reason for doing this, is that he and a lot of the indigenes of the area, who are predominantly farmers, view the Fulani with suspicion.

For many Fulani nomads, their homes, right from time immemorial,have always been wherever they can find food for their livestock. The encroaching desertification and drought, made worse by population explosion and large scale crop farming, have made the Fulani to compete for the few available fertile lands with crop farmers in the townships. The farmers in Plateau or Damboa see the nomads as settlers coming to take away their lands, and the nomads flock there ,because of the severe conditions in the desert region.

Severity of conditions is also indicated by reports of shepherds who deprived themselves of water and milk,so that calves might have a chance to live. At one point even valuable camels are reported to have been punctured for their water supplies. Other nomads are said to have squeezed dung for moisture.


Daily Trust interacted with these shepherds and saw that nothing other than ‘the search for food’ attracts them closer to the cities, but anytime there is a conflict, like any other ethnic group they find themselves either with the victims or with the aggressors. Unfortunately, food for them is now moving closer and closer to the south. “We are running away from the shortage of food and the people are sending us back to die, I won’t go back I will stay back and fight” said a Fulani who just moved to Damboa with 19 members of his family.

Alhaji Jebbe, Sarkin Fulani of Kwaikwai community in Bungudu local government area in Zamfara State, who displayed his indigene letter to prove his citizenship of Nigeria, believes the authorities here will not only allow them to settle down, but construct a borehole for them, a request which the Chairman of Damboa frowned at. According to the Chairman his mandate is to provide basic amenities to the indigenes of Damboa, a claim refuted by Barrister Haruna Mshelia, the chairman, Nigerian Bar Association, Borno State chapter.

“Settler or no settlers ,these people are citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and they are free to move freely anywhere in Nigeria. The chairman is expected to provide water for people in Damboa not indigenes of Damboa” said Mshelia who criticised the LG Boss for saying the Fulani did not follow due process before coming and even settling in Damboa “Which law in Nigeria requires a citizen to go and inform a Lawan or district head, before he or she settles anywhere. There is no such law” said the NBA scribe.

The chairman of Damboa said his disposition to this ethnic group is borne out of his experience as a chairman. “I spend 3 out of my 5 working days settling disputes between Fulani and farmers,in court and out of court .Therefore allowing more Fulani here means I may not even have the time to stay in the office, because my people are predominantly farmers” said Lawan.


But “what is the cause of these problems, I was told that the Fulani are in a forest reserve in Damboa that is gradually abused by farmers and residents, and as the chairman, he has the authority to stop people from encroaching in this grazing reserve. I think government at all levels have failed the Fulani. Everyone likes meat but we don’t care how it is produced” said Mshelia.

Cattle paths and both sides of the roads have been utilised by crop farmers, and it is difficult to stop cattle from feeding when passing these farmlands. According to many Fulani , crop farmers are given land, but the same is not applicable to livestock farmers. Crop farmers are given loans, fertilizers and other subsidies by governments, but not livestock farmers in Nigeria. “Yet we are all Nigerians, no wonder they always claim to be more superior ,and I can assure you if these injustices are not addressed,there will be a resistance by the Fulani people very soon” said a lecturer who is also Fulani at the university of Maiduguri.

Kano is a ''blessed'' state

CBN Gov: Senator Writes Yar’Adua over Appointment
From Sufuyan Ojeifo in Abuja, 05.26.2009



Chairman,  Senate Committee on Housing and Urban Development, Senator Ikechukwu Obiorah (Anambra South), has written to President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua, advising him on the need to adhere to the principle of federal character in the appointment of a new Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor.
Obiorah's letter, dated May 25, 2009, came on the heels of media reports, which indicated that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from Kano State, is being slated to succeed Professor Chukwuma Soludo, as governor of the nation's apex bank.
In the one-page letter, entitled: "The Need to reflect Federal Character Principle in the Finance Sub-sector," Obiorah said  Minister of Finance, Dr Mansur Muhtar and  Minister of National Planning, Dr Shamsudeen Usman were both from Kano.
The letter, signed by Obiorah, reads in part: "recent newspaper reports, particularly the un-refuted THISDAY front page stories of May 23, 2009, and May 24, 2009, indicated that Sanusi Lamido Sanusi from Kano State is being slated for appointment as the next Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria.
"I am, therefore, compelled with the highest sense of responsibility, to advert your mind to the fact that the other two heads of the finance sub-sector to wit: Dr Shamsudeen Usman,  Minister of National Planning; and, Dr Mansur Muhtar, the Minister of Finance, are both from Kano State.
"The appointment of another person from Kano State to head the Central Bank of Nigeria will therefore, offend the letter and spirit of Section 14(3) of the 1999 Constitution, which mandates the compliance with the Federal Character principle in the composition of government or its agencies or part thereof."
Obiorah said  his intervention should not be construed as promoting a North/South or zonal dichotomy. "But rather, it should be seen as an abiding need to ensure that out of the 36 states of the federation, one state only should not produce persons to head an entire finance sub-sector of the Nigerian economy."
He expressed the hope that the president would find his advice necessary, "especially with your avowed commitment to the Rule of Law and Due Process."

I fail to see the blatant rationalization of the so-called militancy in the Niger Delta as has been related to deported Nigerians by Godwin Abbe. How many Ijaws (those more involved in the struggle in the Niger Delta) are abroad, as compared to Yoruba, Ibo and Edo peoples, and how many of those (Ijaws) are among the deported Nigerians? The hausa and Yoruba-led FGN has failed Nigeria and now look for whom to blame. It is said that over 200 billion USD have been siphoned from Nigeria since independence. We all know when corruption became an issue in Nigeria and where all the stolen monies accrued from. One day monkey go go market and miss road!

FG Blames Deportees for Crisis
From Senator Iroegbu in Abuja, 05.26.2009



The Federal Government said yesterday that the protracted conflict in the troubled Niger Delta region is the handiwork of some aggrieved repatriated Nigerians, in concert with militants.
Speaking at a one-day national sensitisation workshop on issues relating to internal security, Minister of Interior, Maj. General Godwin Abbe (rtd), assured that the Nigerian state is however, developing new dimensions to security strategies to match its level of development.
According to Abbe, the situation arose from the gory and unimaginable suffering, exploitation, punishment and death experienced by those deported from all parts of the globe, having been lured out of the country by human traffickers “I am concerned about these Nigerians brought in from various countries of the world; Europe, America, South East Asia and indeed other African countries.
A number of them come with various habits and attitudes, they come in defeated, they come back aggrieved and armed with all sorts of ideas that are anti-social in nature," he said.
Abbe said the rampant cases of kidnapping which has assumed a dangerous dimension in terms of its frequency and intensity was a grave national security challenge that government must tackle headlong.
He said though government is putting into consideration those who are weak and helpless, “nobody should take the magnanimous approach of government for a ride or for incompetence or inability to do what must be done to bring law and order to every part of the country."
He urged states to synergize, cross-fertilize ideas and come up with recommendations to assist the Federal Government to address this common national problem and find a common solution.

Is Adeboye looking for free spare parts for his aircraft? Someboby please tell him that air planes are made off of aluminum and not steel. His prayer will be a workless one because it is misdirected. He should instead be praying for spiritual intervention in Nigeria's overwhelming corruption (one of the reasons for Ajaokuta's moribund state), rather than this cheap publicity stunt. This one na ''ogbonge'' bishop.

Boy tied up, starved for 3 days , For stealing N10
•Father, step mum arrested
By CHRISTOPHER OJI, NWANNE OKOYE and CELESTINE OMOKPO
Tuesday, May 26, 2009

• Little Israel in pains
•Photo: Sun News Publishing
More Stories on This Section

The police on Sunday rescued a 10-year-old boy who was tied leg and hands for three days without food and water at the Igando area of Lagos. The boy, who the police gave his name as Israel Adebisoye, was tied with rubber by his father and his stepmother for allegedly stealing N10.

Onlookers, especially women, could not hold back their tears as they rained curses on the evil father and step mum when they were paraded by the police at the Oduduwa Police Station, Ikeja.
The boy, who at a point started vomiting, managed to utter the word: “I am dying, please, take me to the clinic.”

When the boy made the painful comment, sympathizer especially women could not control their emotions as they burst out in tears raining curses on the couple.

The father, Kehinde Adebisoye told Daily Sun that he punished his son by tying him with rubber because he could not return the sum of N10 balance from the N40 he gave him to purchase an undisclosed thing.
He said: “Besides, my child is a known thief. The school teacher reported to me last time that he stole some money at the school. He ran away from home, so, when I caught him, I tied his hands to his legs and starved him of food and water for three days.”
However, his wife, Dupe, claimed he did not rescue the child because his husband would beat her up if she had pleaded for the child.

She said: “Once, I tried it and I was given the beaten of my life and that was why I decided to keep mum and watch the drama being acted by my husband.
Lagos State police spokesman, Mr. Frank Mba, said the little boy was rescued by the police when a neighbour gave information to the police. Mba, who described the act as man’s inhumanity to man, said the man teamed up with his wife to carry out the dastardly act.

He revealed that succour had come to the dying boy as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian University (SSANU) has volunteered to take over the treatment of the little boy.
Mba, who handed over the boy to chairman of the SSANU, Sessi Funmi, commended the association for its gesture.
Mba said the couple would be charged to court soon.

NAFDAC shuts pharmaceutical factory in Kano
22.05.2009

National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) has shut down a Kano-based pharmaceutical factory for engaging in the production of contaminated drugs.


The factory, New Bethel Pharmaceutical Limited, was sealed-off by NAFDAC regulatory officers for operating under poor condition and violating manufacturing practices by producing a Vitamin B complex heavily contaminated with microbial growth.


Acting Deputy Director in charge of Kano Special Zone of NAFDAC, Mr. Sariel, who led a team of Regulatory Officers to the Dakata-Kawaji factory in Kano, said among the offences committed by the pharmaceutical company were: “inadequate manufacturing equipment, poor record keeping, filthy water treatment facility, barely equipped laboratory for drug analysis, poor batch coding of products and untrained personnel”.


Mr. Sariel said that NAFDAC management had decided that the factory should be relocated to a new environment conducive for production of quality drugs.


Mr. Sariel called on well meaning Nigerians to always report any suspected case of fake, expired or contaminated drugs to the nearest NAFDAC office for appropriate action.