₦airaland Forum

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

It is in situations like this that one begins to wonder whether there is any hope for morality in our country. I am talking about such cases where we see perversion in a place it should have no business manifesting. Where the debasement of decency takes root in a place that should instill same; quash that thought, this is not about the churches.

We were last Tuesday returned to our institutions of higher learning. We were so conveyed back by the action of students from the Creative Arts department of the University of Lagos who embarked on a protest march against the excesses of their randy lecturers.

If they say 'excesses', then excesses is really the word. We all know that before students of nowadays can get themselves to carry out a protest, the situation must have really got out of hand. It is no longer like the students activist days of Labaran Maku and company where a little infraction against students and their activities is attended by a fierce aluta continua.

The Unilag students in their hundreds, armed with placards bearing messages hinting at the lasciviousness of the lecturers, alleged sexual harassment and other allegations of misconduct against their lecturers. The students told that lecturers in their department have made life difficult for them by making sex with them a major criterion for passing examinations.

They also alleged that male students who obviously cannot offer sexual favours to their lecturers were made to part with exorbitant sums of money, in place of sex, if they wanted to pass their exams. This, we called 'sorting' during our days in school, I wonder what it was nicknamed in yours. The money paid by the male students form part of what the lecturers use to finance their adulterous lifestyle.

That rings a bell, doesn't it? That was how they took us back. Those who graduated from school in the recent past will by this, have their minds cast back on how it was during their times in school. This issue has always been there. It won't be wrong to surmise that the ill tradition was handed down to today's crop of lecturers by the ones who had retired or are probably dead. How? Today's lecturers were yesterday's students who watched them do it glaringly.

This vice accounted for a major reason cultism and cultists reigned supreme.
The reduction in incidences of cultism in our tertiary schools,is attributable to lecturers learning how to manage their libido. Hence the students' unwillingness to be members of cults since they have no lecturers to scare away from their valentines.

It then appears that raunchy lecturers are taking advantage of the lull in cult activities to go after girls arbitrarily. During the heydays of cultism in schools, lecturers focussed their research efforts on finding out which female student is dated by a cultist so as to back off. I hope lecturers who are demanding sex from students are not trying to buoy cultism?

Talking of research from our academia, we may have chanced into the reason behind our not seeing much of their research efforts to address the pervasive and overwhelming problems plaguing our society. Their self-inflicted distraction, occasioned by the lust for female students, is apparently responsible for this.

For it is impracticable for a man who maintains a lustful way of life to successfully conclude a serious research effort. Having a harem of courtesans distracts men from their goals just like King Solomon was turned away from his devotion to God who so blessed him with wisdom.

The chronic womaniser of a lecturer apparently has a wife with children who may still be teens. He will be so calculating on how he goes about his philandering such that his family will not be in the know. Besides, he will equally contend with how to assuage or deal with a mistress who wants to blow the lead off his extra-marital activities, just like we read in the news some 48 hours after the Unilag protest.

It was reported of the personal secretary to a professor at the Delta State University who demanded N100,000 from her 'professor lover'  as settlement for his having an amorous relationship with her or be ready to face public scandal. These are distractions amidst which no real research result can be achieved.

And what is an academic without an impacting research to his credit. Now you can better appreciate why our universities are always at the lower rungs of world universities rankings.

This article has seen me lump all lecturers together even though I know there are female lecturers (who knows if there are gay female lecturers harassing females students or female lecturers pestering male students as well?).

My sweeping postulations are well intended. This is owing to the fact that those who are innocent of pestering students for sex know what their colleagues are doing yet they elected to look the other way. What stops them from giving the left leg of fellowship to the bad eggs among them?

Some of these comrade of theirs even dare their victims to go and report and see for themselves that nothing will come out of it. It is to the extent that even junior lecturers dare their prey to report them to the Senate- a congregation of professors in a university. And truly, students who thought such a bluff soon learnt it wasn't. You can now see the complicity.

Moreover, an Igbo adage holds that when a finger is dipped into oil, it soils the rest fingers. Lecturers can't have reprobates among them and expects to be without blame. The blame is already there by the existence of black sheep in their midst.

I remember the case of a friend of mine who refused to marry a lecturer who was seriously seeking her hand in marriage because she had come to believe that all lecturers are casanovas and that she wouldn't want to share her husband with students. That is how such a respected profession has been demystified by lecturers who can't just be contented with the wife they have at home.

This should make the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) rise to the occasion by riding our varsities of this menace that shouldn't be heard of it. If there is sincerity of purpose on their part, ASUU and other relevant authorities have all it takes to rein in these sexually immoral lecturers. This does not exonerate those in polytechnics and colleges of education, parallel bodies in these schools of higher learning should equally seek out and punish the erring lecturers.

Some of them are so dubious that they are only attracted to female students they suspect to be virgins. They identify these ones through their pattern of dressing and demeanor. This is one of the reasons I am not always fascinated by the argument that the kind of dresses female students put on are responsible for the passes they are getting from the lecturers.

Meanwhile, since the popular position is that the manner in which female students dress is what is turning weak lecturers on, students would be well advised to dress properly while on campus. After all, some higher institutions are already adopting a code of dressing for their students.

Relevant stakeholders must work to end this aberration that has gained ground in our higher institutions. Parents who, through brawn and toil, saw their wards through tertiary institutions, should not be rewarded by making their hitherto HIV-negative daughters turn HIV-positive at the end of the day because of some licentious lecturers.

Correction in educational institutions is such that each of primary, secondary and tertiary schools have a role to play in inculcating discipline on a person. Tertiary institutions should not be made a weak link in this circle. They shouldn't ruin the good works that have already been done on their students by primary and secondary schools. Oh, I forgot that a proprietor was recently caught defilling an 11-year old pupil in a toilet. Hmm, whither morality in this country?

Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi,
Editor-in-Chief,
wazobiapost.com
ug.ugovester@gmail.com
@ugsylvester

If you are an Anglican and you are posted to Kogi, call this number: 08068967686. ACF Lokoja is willing to offer all the help you need. Wishing you a wonderful stay in camp. Anglican Corpers' Fellowship Lokoja Loves you.

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

Human trafficking, like an Abiku, has again made it to the front burner and it's about to slip away in its usual manner. It had always had a flash at the spotlight but prior to our acknowledging it, it goes into oblivion to return later. But this time round, Abiku, you have to tarry so we can, at least, better introduce you to your hosts.

It beats me how issues surrounding trafficking in persons will make the news still we will fail to adequately feast on them in the banquet of public affairs analysis. Perchance, this explains why the scourge has remained a menace. For when commentaries, articles features, documentaries and the likes are written on it, the members of public get enlightened and guard against them or their relatives becoming victims.

It is true that the hot bed for the recruitment of trafficked Nigerians are the rural areas and that those residing there may not have access to this form of enlightenment, but, people in the hinterlands are our siblings and mothers. Thus, we in the urban areas that are exposed to this are obligated to pass the information across.

So much for the preamble. Now let's get to the kernel of today's engagement;

The U.S. Secretary of State- John Kerry on Wednesday announced the 2013 annual Trafficking in Persons(TIP) report prepared by the State Department. The report identified Nigeria as a source, transit and destination for women and children subjected to forced labour and sex trafficking.

Nigeria retained her Tier 2 status in the report owing to government not fully complying with the minimum standard for the elimination of human trafficking. It however commended the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking In Persons and Other Related Matters(NAPTIP) for its improved anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts as well as provision of specialised anti-trafficking training for its officials.

But, at the same time we were digesting the TIP report vis-a-vis human trafficking in our country, the news broke that no fewer than 200 Nigerians girls are trafficked every month into Moscow. This was made known by Nigeria's Ambassador to Russia- Asam Asam.

Speaking in an interview in Berlin, the diplomat said the crime had declined in Western Europe following strict laws on illegal migration and joint efforts by the Nigerian government. According to him, attention had shifted to Eastern Europe as the new destination for the trade.

I wonder where we have wronged these whites. After all they did to our forebears during the aeon of slave trade, their dubious fancy for trading in humans is yet to sate. Their ancestors were behind the slave trade of yore now the present generation of whites have turned it to human trafficking. They have made 'an old wine in a new wine skin' of slave trade with us as the article of trade in both settings.

The scoundrels involved in this illicit trade obviously don't give a hoot about Abraham Lincoln's postulation that “Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to see it tried on him personally.”

Oh, how lovely it will be for the table to turn so that they or theirs will be the ones traded upon in the market like commodities so that they can have a taste of their own medicine.

However, let's take solace in Booker T. Washington's submission that “You can't hold a man down without staying down with him.” Those who are holding down people in the name of human trafficking should know that a part, if not all parts, of the lives will be staying down! It may not be at the moment, but, there will surely come a time they will stay down. Unless what goes around doesn't come round any more.

And to our own people who are involved in this outlawed business, let them know that they are justifying the inhuman treatment their forefathers went through in the name of slave trade.

Their being merchants in persons shows they are in support of the atrocities committed by the whites during the slave trade era. Maybe they should pay a visit to any major museums that have relics of slave trade for them to see what they are reliving.

The love for money has remained the spur for those getting into the trafficking in persons business. Now, we can better appreciate why it was recorded that money is the root of all evil. As a global industry, human trafficking is worth in excess of $32bn (£20bn) a year.

Back home in Nigeria, the avaricious perverts who engage in this evil sell children for prices ranging from N30,000 to N60,000 per child. The Director-General of Kano State Hisbah Board, Alhaji Abba Sufi, said a suspect was recently arrested in Gwale Local Government Area after selling a three-year-old girl at N60,000 to his customer at Rijiyar Lemo quarters in Kano metropolis.

Indeed, those who are engaged in this forbidden act are debased. Else, why won't a child's freedom and rights worth more than N60,000 in their crooked minds. Here are what that amount can cause a trafficked victim: the women and girls are trafficked for rituals, domestic servitude and sex trafficking with the boys trafficked for forced labour in street vending, domestic service, mining, stone quarrying, agriculture and begging.

Are these really what we would want to subject a fellow human to just to make N60,000?

The TIP report noted that Nigerian women and children are also recruited and transported to destinations in North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, where they are held captive in the sex trade or in forced labour. Some others are trafficked to Malaysia, where they are forced into prostitution and to work as drug mules for their traffickers.

Just envisage this inhumanity of man to his fellow man all because of financial returns. There is no way money can atone for the repercussion that comes with acts this cruel. The merchants are so cold-blooded that they use threats of voodoo curses to control their victims and force them into situations of prostitution or labour.

If only voodoo curses were like the English Law where he who comes to equity must come with clean hands, then the merchants of persons dare not come close. But, the same principle should apply to voodoo curses. What these people are doing is abominable, as such, traditional religion- to which voodoo is mostly associated, should not accommodate them.

Another significant means of controlling the trafficked women and girls is through a form of witchcraft which is common in some communities across West Africa. Pastors and religious leaders should come handy here. They should through intercession to God wage war against this witchcraft that is used in promoting human trafficking.

Members of the clergy should, through the leading of the Holy Spirit have ministries that are solely devoted to fighting human trafficking through spiritual warfare. Their God abhors injustice and oppression as such He will not relent in answering prayers that are aimed at addressing both.

Religious leaders can also speak against human trafficking in their sermons for these human traffickers have churches and mosques they attend. Speaking against human trafficking in places of worship can also dissuade parents who encourage the continued exploitation of their children because of pecuniary gain. Yes, there are parents like that!

Further, government should work to address the porous nature of our borders. According to the Zonal Commander of the NAPTIP, Hajiya Khadija Bello, there are about 300 illegal routes used by human traffickers to ferry their victims out of the country in Katsina alone. If we have 300 illegal routes in Katsina alone, how may will there be in the entire country?

The major reasons why Nigeria did not fare well in the TIP report was because government was yet to pass a draft legislation that would restrict the ability of judges to offer fines in lieu of prison time during sentencing and the verity that security agents can't identify victims of human trafficking. It is high time authorities did what is expected in these regards.

This abiku of human trafficking has just received a bashing by this article. Let it be accompanied by others. Media houses should churn out editorials and commentaries to enlighten the public on facets of this multi-dimensional scourge. Let us devote massive airtime and space to condemning trafficking in persons, then will we see this abiku embark on a journey of no return.


by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

Editor-in-Chief,

wazobiapost.com

@ugsylvester

ug.ugovester@gmail.com

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
There are certain points of convergence between Nigeria and Kenya. They are the East Africa's largest economy, ditto for us in West Africa. Only one in every four Kenyans have access to electricity just like it obtains here in Nigeria. Our poverty levels are almost on a par, with ours pegged at 46 per cent while theirs hovers between 44 and 46 per cent.

Notwithstanding these common statistics we share with Kenya, Kenyatta's country seems to be more development-focused than we are. This can be seen from the verity that out of the 186 countries ranked in terms of the Human Development Index(HDI), Kenya was placed at the 143 spot while we were ranked 153.

Another certainty to consider is that while we as a nation was making headlines as the country with the most incidence of out of school children across the globe, kenya is well on track to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of basic education for all children by 2015.

Given these more positive outlook Kenya has over Nigeria, one expects Nigeria to be more assertive in making moves that would at least better its ratings and improve the quality of life lived in the country. Unfortunately, this is not to be as the Kenyans are beating us to it!

The Kenyan lawmakers used to be among the highest paid legislators in the world. This places them in the same club with their Nigerian counterpart. But they have doff themselves from that club with their agreeing to slash their salaries by $45000.

How?

Consequent upon a public outcry that culminated in over 100 demonstrators protesting outside the parliament building last Tuesday, the lawmakers have agreed to lower their salaries. Some of the protesters had, during the demonstration, tossed fake money at the main gate of the building to symbolise greed of the lawmakers.

Each member of the Kenyan parliament had received $120 000 as remuneration last year, but after negotiations, members of parliament agreed to accept salaries of about $75000 per annum, said the country's Salaries and Remuneration Commission.

Interestingly, this was happening about the same time Nigeria's upper legislative chamber is proposing that the Senate President and the Speaker of House of Representatives alongside their deputies should be entitled to life pensions. It is inconsequential to them that progressive countries are slashing their lawmakers salaries, their concern is in adding to their already over blotted entitlements.

Now you see the extent of our serious-mindedness. I am left wondering why it wasn't the main gate of our National Assembly complex that experienced the tossing of some fake naira notes. For I doubt if there is anywhere else in the world one can find a better definition of greed.

It will be recalled that towards the end of 2010, the CBN governor mallam Lamido Sanusi had told us in his usual blunt manner what we suspected that 25 per cent of our annual budget is consumed by the National Assembly. Nothing serious had come out of that allegation thus confirming its veracity, at least Sanusi didn't recant.

Yet in Kenya where the laudable initiative was taken, only 12 per cent of the nation's gross domestic product was spent on government workers' salaries including the parliamentarians' pay. Still they thought it wise to free up $45000 from their recompense. Pray, when would our public officers begin to think it wise to do what is expedient considering the outrageous inequality in the land.

Maybe it is when we peacefully pay them a visit to their complex to demand their doing what lawmakers in Kenya have done. That is one of the highpoint of democracy- the right to demonstrate that is. Since the National Assembly prides itself as the beacon and pillar of democracy, let's serve them this essential recipe of civil rule.

Of a truth, if the Kenyans hadn't taken their grievance to the door step of the lawmakers, I am pretty sure that their country would continue to pay its lawmakers $120 000 per annum. This is as the country's Salary Commission had earlier this year ordered a cut in parliament's pay only for the lawmakers to turn down the decision by voting to restore their salaries.

Given this scenerio, am afraid nous will never suffix in making our lawmakers do what is expected. For the human nature is such that only an external impulse can make us give up that which we cherish. I need not bore you with what these people cherish as P.J. O'Rourke had averred, "giving money and power to government is like giving whiskey and car keys to teenage boys."

For our lawmakers who are proposing life pension for their most senior officers, let them be guided by Socrates' enduring aphorism that, "He who is not contented with what he has, would not be contented with what he would like to have."

Our National Assembly members should, for a change, put country above their cravings for personal enrichment since it does no country any good. In the eternal words of Franklin D. Roosevelt, "we have always known that heedless self interest was bad morals, we now know that it is bad economics."

There was a time in this country when lawmakers were engaged on a part-time basis with nothing more than sitting allowance as their due. Pundits have continued to canvass that as the way to go. This disposition is given vent to by the fact that most of our lawmakers have made themselves part-time legislators. Hence the vacant sits we see during plenary.

Nontheless, this shouldn't just be just for the lawmakers, members of the executive arm should also take a cue from the worthy example of the Kenyan lawmakers. If they think it a different context, let them be moved by the example of the Malawian President- Joyce Banda who gave up 30 per cent of her salary causing her to earn £26 000 instead of the £37 000 annual salary she was entitled to.

We should grow past the primordial belief that it is only by stockpiling money by way of fat salaries and allowances that our future and those of our families can be guaranteed.

At the moment, the federal government is set to scrap 220 parastatals, agencies and commissions. Their reason for this is to streamline its activities to make for greater efficiency in service delivery and to reduce the cost of governance. But why is this cost of governance not reduced from the very top where the funds lie and are persistently frittered away into private pockets in the name of allowances, salaries, estacodes, security vote, constituency allowance and the likes?

It is so adverse that our public officers cannot be good spirited enough to part with a part of their colossal salaries in order to prevent the scrapping of this high number of government bodies. This is in view of the unemployment that their shedding will generate.

The truth remains that the Oliver Twist in us will always present itself no matter what we are earning at the moment. If this was not to be, there wouldn't have been a proposal pushing for life pension for our most senior national legislators.

The citizens must however be on hand to help these people whose sense of reason may have been overtaken by the bounty they get out of our commonwealth. That way we would be helping them not to be poor like the Uruguayan President Jose Mujica, reputed to be the world's poorest president, lectured: "Poor people are those who only work to try to keep an expensive lifestyle and always want more and more... If you don't have many possessions then you don't need to work all your life like a slave to sustain them."

However, since moral suasion mean nothing to these people, a mild push from we the electorate can make them do something akin to what their Kenyan counterpart have done. This is because the need Nigeria has for a slice of their earnings transcends that which Kenya has for its lawmakers' $45000.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, you can follow me on twitter via @ugsylvester

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
The other day, a rumpus ensued in a banking hall where a customer accused the bank in question of deliberate attempt to defraud him. What was behind this allegation? He used the bank's Automated Teller Machine(ATM) to recharge his phone with N2,400 worth of airtime, but there was nary an airtime on his phone yet the amount was deducted from his balance.

The aggrieved customer said he had complained repeatedly to the bank for which they always gave him a complaint form to fill that he dutifully filled yet the sham wasn't rectified. This, he maintained, has lasted for five weeks hence his resolve to come hard on the bank. Don't lose focus, what you are expected to glean from that is the failure of ATMs!

Cases like the above must have necessitated the investigation launched by the House of Representatives and the Consumer Protection Council (CPC) into allegations of indiscriminate seizure of customers’ money by the malfunctioning Automated Teller Machines of banks.

But it doesn't stop at the seizure of customers' money. What have become of ATMs and what has been made of that machine are multifarious.

There was this instance in Lagos where a customer who withdrew money from an old generation bank went to another bank few metres away to deposit part of the money only to be told by the cashier that some of the N1000 notes were fake. Efforts to explain the source of the money were rebuffed as the cashier and other customers in that bank confirmed that the development was not strange but was now becoming rampant.

Similarly, another victim who withdrew some amount of money from an ATM in Ibadan was stunned when he was told by a cashier in his office, as he was making some deposit, that two of the one thousand naira notes were fake.

Electronic transactions through ATMs have been bedeviled by other inefficiencies that are impinging on its wide adoption and reliability. There are times when the machine will swallow customers' card outright while at other times it will keep customers longer than should be before their money and cards are ejected.

Many are already developing phobia for the machines to the extent that but for the policy that specifies the least amount that should be paid across the counter, they wouldn't mind opting for the old school! At least, through that means the fear of being giving ersatz note wouldn't surface.

Suppositions are rife that the seizure of customers' funds in the guise of malfunctioning ATMs are calculated attempts by banks aimed at using unsuspecting customers' money to ease the financial pressure on them.

This is as an elephantine sum would have been realised by the banks when they aggregate the funds realised from the purported incidences. We will indeed be talking about millions of naira being deliberately denied customers while the banks are feeding fat on same.

Is it a wonder that it was confirmed by the Central Bank of Nigeria(CBN) that as at the first quarter of this year, banks in Nigeria have defrauded unsuspecting customers to the tune of N8.6bn aside the fraud perpetrated through ATMs. Now we know how they come through with those high profit they flaunt before us year in, year out.

Industry players are always quick to attribute this anomaly to their ATMs not being in good condition. But how can they be in good condition when most of them have become antiquated? And how come with all the money the banks are ripping of customers they can't provide modern machines that are flawless?

All these reeks of an intended gambit.

Internet failure has also been addused as why the current situation persists. But with the innovations that go with the internet phenomenon, no serious-minded organisation would in this age allow internet failure to hamper its operations or give it a negative toga. If we don't hear of this in other climes, why should our banks tell us this tale?

The banks that seem so handicapped as regards ATMs withholding customers' funds will never tolerate a customer's default on the repayment of loan even for a day without sanction from the bank. In such instance, we don't even hear of internet failure affecting what they know of the loan.

The probe already instituted by the lawmakers and CPC is a welcome development as the banks would continue to indulge in this if no searchlight is beamed on them. The racket must have persisted because there has been no sanction to make banks responsible by ensuring that their ATMs are always in good condition and that they don't hide under the lapses of electronic transactions to undo customers.

The investigations should therefore be thorough not excluding the cases of the machines dispensing fake currency note. This cannot be attributed to the failure of ATMs as it is a clear case of human element. As such the scrutiny should be targeted at unearthing these unwholesome acts.

It shouldn't end with the investigations, neither should the probe be conceived as another scarecrow. The banks that would be revealed as culpable should be appropriately sanctioned. At least let a fall guy be made out of one of them then the rest will fall in line.

The banking industry should take measures to rid itself of this smirch that is denting on its image. There is the need for them to take extra vigilance on those uploading money into the ATMs and double-check bundle of currency notes being put in the vaults. If they can't get a handle on the supposed machine factor, let them not less than control the human element.

With the much puffed cashless policy of the CBN, we are in for a chimera if we allow this to continue. For there is no way the economy can go cashless when people don't have confidence on the conduit through which this can be achieved and the apparatus for the policy are skewed to defraud users.

But if we are carefree enough to allow these go unchecked, then should we know that we would only have succeeded in making people have less of their cash in the stead of empowering them to make the most of a cashless economy.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, you can follow me on twitter via @ugsylvester

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
That President Jonathan is today edging towards the 1984 big brother is not in contest, what many are yet to come to terms with is the kickback that his resembling that big brother brings. His control of the federal government that gets 52 per cent of government's revenue allows him the privilege of being that master that can wipe erring subordinates into line.

That is why this is not exclusive to him. His predecessors, as a result being exposed to the same federal might, never hesitated in deploying it when and where it mattered most to them. Call it abuse of power if you may, it remains what it is.

Ours have become a case of 'power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely' like Lord Acton reckoned. Though we have the National Assembly and the Judiciary that are supposed to tone down the tempo of the president's power, we still know how absolute the president's powers is.

Cast your mind back to former president Olusegun Obasanjo when he was at the helm and you would have got a clear view of what I am implying. Those days, even a sophomore student of political science can readily tell you that what we then called democracy was anything but democracy.

This arises from the impunity with which the establishments were used against perceived political enemies. We know what became of the self-acclaimed governor-general of the Ijaw nation, Joshua Dariye of Plateau, Chris Ngige of Anambra, Rashidi Ladoja of Oyo to mention but a few just because they fell out with the then 'oga at the top'. Even his deputy, former vice president Atiku Abubakar was not spared the raw scorch of power when things fell apart between the two leaders.

The same absolute power was exploited to coerce the former Rivers State governor- Peter Odili into giving up his highly publicised aspiration to become president in 2007. If he hadn't backed down he would have been at the mercy of the EFCC. But I guess it was because of the skeletons in his closet(pardon the cliche) that he had to swallow his ambition. These are all cases of use and misuse of power- a classic example of how absolute power corrupted absolutely.

Today the situation hasn't changed one bit. The seemingly absolute power wielded by President Jonathan has continued to corrupt him absolutely. However, we are the better for it! Cool temper, you will understand and come to terms with me presently.

We are in the know of the travails of former Bayelsa governor- Timipre Silver. He fought the battle of his life to get a second term mandate but that he couldn't secure because he fell out with he that has the yam and the knife. Today, he is been interrogated by the EFCC with regards to a N48 billion fraud. I trust your intelligence to tell whose imprimatur you can attribute his ordeal to.

Jigawa State governor, Sule Lamido, had been quietly living his life and transforming Jigawa to the best of his ability, neither him nor any of his were arrested or (like some would say) harassed by the EFCC. But, immediately campaign posters linked him to the 2015 presidential election that was when his eldest son would be arrested for money laundering.

A coincidence? You decide. Reading the handwriting on the wall, Governor Lamido quickly dissociate himself from any plot to contest the 2015 presidential election. Since then not a rider nor a kicker has been heard of his son's money laundering case. Eventuality indeed!

The predicaments of Rivers State governor- Rotimi Amaechi is a common knowledge. Legion are his afflictions since he sinned against the power-that-be. Please don't ask me the sin(s) he committed

The security details of key members of his government were withdrawn, his victory at the Nigeria Governor's Forum(NGF) was denied him, the NGF was made to be in factions, he is suspended from his party and there are schemes to have him impeached albeit the state assembly is in support of him.

Absolute power still corrupting absolutely.

For any still in doubt as regards the fear that governors have of the president's powers, let them ponder on why 19 governors would endorse the president's man in the open while in the secret ballot three of them demurred. It is indeed because of their fears for he that 'can do and undo'.

The foregoing notwithstanding, may I announce to you that our country stands the chance of being the better for it when state power is exploited in this manner. This is because it deters the governor who ordinarily is corrupt from being corrupt for he knows that that would mortgage his freedom to a large extent.

I dare say that if Governor Amaechi were to be so corrupt or inefficient, he wouldn't have lasted this long in the Rivers State government house. If his party could suspend him for sacking the chairman and councillors of Obio-Akpor Local Government which was reportedly done by the state legislature, imagine what they would have done if he weren't above board.

They succeeded in the case of Timipre Silver because there was something to hold onto. Had he been a performing governor who won the heart of his people, their scheming would have been tantamount to the last gubernatorial election in Edo State.

The vindictive nature of this power-that-be knows no bounds. It will be recalled that after the former minister of education Oby Ezekwesili accused government of wasting the $67 billion foreign reserve left for it by the Obasanjo administration, this administration lashed out at the former minister for the N458.1 billion that accrued to the ministry of education under her watch which they maintained produced no achievement.

They even spoiled for a probe of her stewardship at the ministry of education. Remember also that it was rumoured that former PDP national chairman Vincent Ogbolafor was made to resign because he spoke out against Jonathan contesting the 2011 election. Before you could say Vincent, ICPC had already arraigned him at a Abuja High Court on a 17-count criminal charge involving N2.3 billion fraud said to have been committed by him when he was a minister during the Obasanjo regime.

These people are experts at dusting up files and digging up dirts to be hurled at their target when the time is right. Those who ordinarily want to throw stones are restrained because they live in glass houses. But if they must throw, then glass houses should not be their place of abode.

It is in this light that those who are today serving in government at various levels have no option but to be diligent and true to their callings. That is if they value their rights to be voted for and to pass information. If they thought that the restrictions would lasts only while they are in office, they would be deceiving themselves. Who knows, the restrictions may even extend beyond the afore-mentioned two areas in the future.

As for that power-that-be, the one whose absolute powers have so absolutely corrupted, leave him to the next power-that-be. Then would you see him speaking with his tongue in check. It is even possible that he would then become the next characterisation of the saying: what goes round, comes around.

Perchance, that is another route to the maturity of our democracy. But if it is not, let us then work to remove the absolute in the powers to be exercised by our presidents.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja.
@ugsylvester

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Her demand for capital to start a business in the stead of receiving the N500 handed to her to take care of the hunger she carped about is a testament to the industrious spirit of the average Nigerian. I don't know about you but that was what got to me in the entire episode.

One would have doubted her citizenship if she had put up such a show for a mere N500. Even those into showbusiness charge over N500 for a ticket, not to talk of having same amount as the gross income. Thus, it becomes economically untenable for our subject to host such a show and get N500 for all her troubles.

On a more serious note, it is heartening that she played to the popular Chinese maxim which held, "Don't give me the fish but teach me to fish." For accepting the fish will only take care of the current but wouldn't be there for the subsequent. Let me at this point take you to the scene for you to get a good grasp of my disquisition.

It was a bizarre sight last Monday at the Ikeja Magistrate's Court as one Esther Odozi aged 21 exposed her boobs in protest against hunger which she said was killing her and her five kids she left back home in Agbor Owanta in Delta State.

Now the scales must have fallen off their eyes. Talking of those who are of the firm belief that it isn't true that there are Nigerians who are so poor that they can't feed themselves. Yes there are people who are of that opinion. If you haven't encountered them, I have. Such Thomases may even dismiss this as a fluke, but let's continue, trusting that the story will convince them on its merit.

She stunned passersby as she laid half-naked in the premises of the court shouting, "hunger, hunger. Government must do something today. I have not received anything from the plenty crude oil money government is spending in our state. Nigerians are wicked."

Rejecting the N500 given to her by an onlooker she said, "I don't want your money. I want Fashola to give me N200 000." I must admit my perplexity as to why she would demand N200 000 from Fashola when she had referred to the spending spree going on in her home state of Delta. I guess it can be attributed to poverty which has the potency of sometimes confusing its victim.

And this woman was really a hapless victim of poverty. Though she appeared to have been rendered incoherent, she spared her lucidity for the one thing that mattered most. That one thing that is capable of extricating her from the clutches of penury. Esther, who said she is a widow with five children to take care of, recounted that she tried to survive on her own by engaging in crop farming until she was hit by a car which caused her an injury that jeopardised her ability to work on the farm.

She then declared, "I will not leave this court without seeing N200 000 to start business. I want to sell melon and garri. Tell Emmanuel Uduaghan, the governor of my state and the federal government to do something about my condition. They must give me part of the petrol money. I must take care of my five children."

I take back what I said earlier, this woman apparently know what she was doing. She was just seeking her share of the national cake or do I say Niger-Delta cake. Notice the use of 'must'. Now we know that not only the violent like MEND and NDPVF take it by force even a one-woman squad can as well. But beyond the rhetoric, the woman should get what she is asking for.

We can all agree that she isn't asking for too much. If the government failed to act, well-meaning individuals should see to it that she gets the N200 000 she is demanding. Since she already has a 'business plan' let's see to it that the business takes off.

It wouldn't even be a bad idea for the education of her children to be taken up. Given that she is whining about hunger, you can best imagine what becomes of other needs. You may ask what is it that qualifies her to be helped? Her clarity of purpose and the determination to take her destiny in her hands does just that.

It is often said that desperate situation requires desperate measures. For her to have gone to the length of desecrating the temple of womanhood, like a barrister described it, it shows she has indeed ran out of options. This is not to encourage the stripping of oneself to prove a point. Her courage to protest is what am happy for and I am sure democracy wherever he is, is pleased by that as well.

At least her protest was not in the fashion of those who kill, maim and destroy. This indicates that Nigerians of today are no longer the Nigerians of yore. We have grown past the Nigerians about whom the legendary Fela Kuti sang; suffering and smiling.

What I am driving at is that the culture of protest has crept into our consciousness and it is fast coming in different forms. Government should take this to mind as the citizens have become increasingly aware of government's responsibilities and they are placing demands on government to that effect.

I am however startled by this new precedent that has been set. Who knows what the next woman in such or worst predicament will do? What would then become of the sanctity of being a woman? How would morality fare? These are questions we wouldn't have to bother ourselves with the answers if this new style of protest did not continue or escalate.

The woman in question didn't just descend from the blues. She must have relatives. I find it hard to believe that none of her kin could raise the required amount or something substantial to have kept Esther from the embarrassment of bringing to the public glare a part of her body that should be concealed.

Even if a relative couldn't foot the capital, contributions from everyone of them could have got the job done. However, it's possible that poverty has become so pervasive in the land that you can hardly find anyone with an extra sum to spare.

This highlights the need for the government to work social welfare into its agenda. Of a truth, not until hunger is banished from the land, the transformation agenda would at best remain a clanging cymbal. One who hears about the publicised growth in our economy would find the ordeal of Esther Odozi hard to believe. Human face should therefore be put to our economic growth.

Meanwhile, there must be a reason that explains why the woman accused Nigerians as being wicked. Not too long ago, a research by the Lagos State's Ministry of Economic Planing and Budgeting revealed that over N1 billion was spent monthly by Lagos residents on merriment and parties in the state.

How cruel can life get? Indeed, great is the gulf between the haves and have-nots in our society. It is not fair for some to dissipate as much as N1 billion on convivialities while a greater majority languish in abject poverty. It plays out the parable of the rich man and Lazarus.

While we should hold nothing against those who are in for glee, they and the government should spare a thought for those who are in need especially those who would prefer to be made fishermen instead of being eaters of fish.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, please follow me on twitter via @ugsylvester

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
A couple of weeks to the event of the 2013 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination(UTME) news filtered in that the federal government is set to scrap the Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board(JAMB) alongside NECO. This ordinarily should prompt the board to conduct one of the best exams. Antithetically, it administered what has been widely referred to as the worst JAMB exam ever.

Though the JAMB Registrar, Professor Dibu Ojerinde held a different view as he opined, "The general performance of candidates in this year's examination shows remarkable improvement compared with that of last year," the fact that the board is reducing this year's cut off mark to 170 from the 180 mark of last year contradicts his position.

What then is the premise on which Professor Ojerinde hinged his assertion that this year's UTME result trumps that of last year? It is based on the fact that only three candidates scored 300 and above in that of last year while in the present as much as 10 candidates achieved same feat. Is that enough reason to celebrate? I don't think so.

This is because just two years ago in 2011, a mammoth 2,892 candidates obtained the 300 and above mark. Then the cut off was 200 but now it has fallen to a miserable 170. I still can't fathom how a country that produced this number of brilliant UTME candidates in 2011, cannot reproduce same or even more in 2013.

Our standard of education has so fallen to the extent where should 1, 629, 102 candidates sat for an exam only 10 would come out tops. Tops is not even as if they are scoring 400 over 400. It's just that they fall within the range of 300 to 400 and am sure you will hardly find any exceeding 350. Is it in this precarious state that we would tolerate whatever further lowers our standard of education? No, of course!

With the way JAMB exams have continued to turn out over recent times, it is as if JAMB has been bitten by the same bug that struck INEC which causes its ultimate exercise to be a degeneracy of the penultimate. We had thought INEC as the only sufferer of the malaise, little did we knew that JAMB has caught the fever. That terrible illness that turns progress upside down and triggers a progress in error.

Many a student who sat for the 2013 UTME paper pencil test do not believe what they saw as their score as a replica of what their intelligence offered. They indeed feel unjustly cheated out of their real score. The other Thursday, some candidates who took part in the exam embarked on a protest in Maryland, Lagos State over the mass failure that trailed the exercise.

The protesting candidates alleged that most of them were failed by JAMB because the board believed that examination questions paper leaked days before the date of the exam. This, it was claimed, led JAMB into deducting a specific mark from the aggregate score of those who wrote the exam as JAMB was afraid that the leakage is bound to provoke the prevalence of high performance among the candidates.

Let's give JAMB a clap for resisting the urge to use that avenue to greatly increase the number of candidates who would have scored 300 and above. After all the knocks the exam body got for having only three candidate emerge 'excellent' the last time, the easy way would have been to turn a blind eye to the leakage so that this time round as much as 10,000 candidates will come through with 300 and above. So let's make the applause more resounding.

But had JAMB been this true to its calling it wouldn't have allowed the questions paper leak in the first place. Even after it got wind of the leakage, it shouldn't have waited to use a marking scheme that has produced mass failure as alleged. The right thing the exam body would have done after it got to know of the anomaly was for it to cancel the exercise and scheduled another day for the examination to be taken.

Had this been done, it would have saved JAMB the embarrassment of having its Registrar to be summoned by the House of Representatives Committee on Education to explain why there was the mass failure of candidates who participated in the now controversial UTME.

Moreover, had the board towed the right path when it got to know of the percolation in the examination questions paper, it wouldn't have landed us in this outrageous situation where the university cut off mark is reduced to 170. It is really unbelievable that we have no shame pegging our varsity entry requirement at 170 over 400.

An examination that is marked over 400 apparently has its pass mark as 200. Using 170 as a pass mark explicitly depicts our students as not being intelligent enough as to score an ordinary average in a test of knowledge. To be fair to JAMB, the board based its decision to reduce the cut off on the need to carry along candidates from education less advantaged areas. But this isn't enough reason to reduce our standard.

The decision by JAMB to lower the cut off mark will in the final analysis lower our standard of education. This is as students will now see no need in studying hard to get high scores in UTME owing to their acknowledgement that a modest score of 170 can see them through.

Given that JAMB is concerned with the plight of those from education less advantaged states, the board had better started mulling the possibility of setting a different set of questions for them. This is to allow it use a marking scheme that differs from that used for candidates from other parts of the country, instead of pegging cut off at a mark that reduces student's morale to read.

We should be mindful of not, in trying to carry a few along, undo ourselves and the greater majority. For we would be undoing a greater majority of students by not giving them a reason to strive for excellence. This we have done by allowing them settle for 170 when once upon a time, the cut off mark used to be 250. Yes you heard me right 250!

This then begs the question, were those JAMB is today securing their quota not being admitted into universities at that time? It all boils down to the fact that JAMB has allowed the Nigerian culture of compromise to thrive in its system. This detracts from our quest for educational advancement, if we have the quest at all.

We can't keep trading off standards especially in the education sub sector and expect our students to attain academic excellence. Now that we have reduced the cut off to 170, if someone who could not score 200 in UTME later succeeds in being admitted to the university, what guarantee is there that such a student will graduate with a grade as low as second class lower.

I guess JAMB never thought of that when it reduced the cut off mark. Perhaps, it was more concerned with heaving the burden off itself without minding who eventually bears same. It is on this account that the various tertiary institutions should rise to the occasion. Thank heavens they still have the right to screen out those who are not qualified to get into school. They should through their post UTME make JAMB realise that not everybody is cut out for furthering his or her education.

But then, there appear to be more to the haste with which JAMB reduced the cut off mark to 170. Perchance it is guilty conscience at play. It may be that what the protesting candidates claimed is dinkum ergo JAMB has no option but to suit its conscience.

It is sad for officials of JAMB, who were quick to issue threat and condemn government's reported plan to scrap the board, not to comport themselves in a manner that curries goodwill from the public who will speak out for them should government seek to effect that plan. JAMB should therefore wake to its responsibility before it is confined to the dustbin of history.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, your reactions are welcome through ug.ugovester@gmail.com

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi

Had the holy writ scripted that workers should be given their pay as at when due, then would Nduka Obaigbene, the Chairman of ThisDay newspapers and his ilk have no lacuna to hold on to. But, "as at when due" was conspicuously omitted since it can be inferred from what was already stated. With that being the case, Obaigbene and co have no lacuna to latch to.

It is a misnomer for a person to be addressed as an employer of labour yet not be able to pay the salary that goes with labour when it is expected. Not be able? I am not buying. Obaigbene, the flamboyant publisher of ThisDay and other titles, truly appears able to offset the wage bill of his employees even before each month gets to the midfield. It then becomes a puzzle of inexplicable proportion why the well-to-do entrepreneur has taken to this attitude.

Last Thursday, the leadership of the Nigeria Union of Journalists(NUJ) and the National Union of Printing, Publishing and Paper Product Workers grounded printing and other activities taking place at the premises of ThisDay newspapers headquarters in Apapa, Lagos. It was even reported that the chairman narrowly escaped a mob action as irate staff of the company moved to beat him up when he showed up at the scene.

Their grouse? They have been owed four months salary without hopes of when it would be paid! If one stomach this from a local monthly paper still struggling to break even, it can and should not be reported of a highly successful national daily like ThisDay.

This is as a flip through the pages of the medium gets you lost as to why the publisher of such a newspaper with high number of adverts and advertorials would shabbily treat the workforce that is responsible for the success of such an elite publication. The connection is basically not there.

One ordinarily expects staffers of ThisDay to be the most prosperous journalists in the country considering the market success of the ThisDay brand and the luxurious lifestyle of its publisher. This in the recent past accounted for why a staff used the twitter handle of the medium to denigrate the chairman going as far as labelling him a crook. This must have been frustration at work.

But do you blame him? You don't need to because if you do, you will also have to denounce the rest staff of ThisDay who last week flew off the handle into picketing the company reportedly booing and rough handling their chairman in the process. Even Obaigbene in his reaction was quoted to have said he respects the rights of his workers to air their grievance. So, why blame them?

The rest part of the publisher's response demystifies his personality. In his words, "they are not being owed for four months but just a couple of months and we said we are settling everybody and we are in the process of doing that." Hmm, what a good tale for the marines!

What unsettles me is the conspiracy of silence of major national newspapers regarding this story, excluding the online media. They made use of their gate keeping window to banish the story into unconsciousness but thank gracious that gone are the days when they alone have the monopoly to break news.

But, it is possible their reticence was because they are as well guilty of the same offence. As the Secretary General of NUJ Abuja, Emmanuel Ogbeche, remarked: "ThisDay is not the only newspaper that NUJ is set to go after following default of staff wages... We know that Peoples' Daily is in arrears of workers' wage, we intend to go there as well. Blueprint is in default of two months, we will also go there."

Perhaps the taciturnity of the conventional print media was based on Obaigbene's towering status as the Chairman of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria(NPAN). Wait, you must be kidding me. So NPAN has an Obaigbene as its Chairman? What kind of example is he setting for other members of the association? Little wonder he isn't the only culprit.

The foregoing betrays the claim by the Nigerian media of being the conscience of the nation as flawed. The media in Nigeria is widely reputed for its predilection to utterly criticise and excoriate the government for not doing things the right way.

It then becomes hypocritical for the media to always seek to remove the wood from government's eye without seeking to first remove the log from its eye. Since they are known to be unequivocal in speaking against injustice in the land, they should as well have spoken out in clear terms against this hubby of the ThisDay Chairman.

Those who turned a blind eye to the story should put themselves in the shoes of such journalists who are being owed to better appreciate their travails. These are people who have families to take care, for crying out loud! Why should what they need to take care of them and theirs be delayed for not one, not two, but for four months? It's pathetic!

The publishers who owe staff their salaries should be in the know of the implication their inaction has on the society. A hungary journalist can be a menace to the society. He can become a tool in the hands of dubious but wealthy individual who would use them to write and publish stories that are injurious to the society but sate the selfish ends of the moneybags.

Further, the delay in the payment of journalists' salaries boosts the collection of 'brown envelope'. For how can a reporter who is owed four months salaries be principled enough to turn down a brown envelope that will surely colour his report? Even when his spirit seeks to reject it, his flesh will definitely seek otherwise and should the flesh prevailed, objective reportage pays the price.

Employers of labour in the media profession should stop capitalising on the love journalists have for their job to take advantage of the cerebral pen professionals. This can cause the aggrieved to wreck reputation damage on the aggressor. Let's not forget that the pen is still mightier than the sword. The pen that served a publisher so well can in the same measure undo him.

The Nigeria Union of Journalists needs to be commended for its involvement in fighting for the right of its members. They shouldn't relent in this as what they are fighting against can destroy their profession. No egg head would want to get into a profession where his or her salary is not guaranteed at the end of the month.

It would be for the common good of all stakeholders concerned with the media to constitute checks on themselves. This is to ensure that the fourth estate does not lose the confidence and respect members of the public repose on it. The NUJ, NPAN, the Nigeria Guild of Editors(NGE) and others should always been on ground to curtail one another's excesses.

For those who would want to continue latching on to the omission of "as at when due" in the biblical injunction recorded in 1 Timothy 5:18 and Luke 10:7, let them search their conscience to know if what they are doing is right or not, that is if they have one.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, please follow me on twitter via @ugsylvester

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Force majeure is a term that is slowly creeping into our national lexicon and consciousness. It is such a negative phrase that no serious country would ever carry about in a way that allows its use anywhere within its territory. This ill locution that does no country any good appears to have fallen in love with our country. At the last count, we have had four occurrences of it and there is no consolation that we won't have another.

What is force majeure, if I may ask? See how few those who know what it means are. This is to be expected as its meaning doesn't give a cause to cheer. Hence the natural instinct is to bury the expression alongside its meaning so that we won't have a basis to imagine the gloom that comes with it especially on a nation's economy and image.

Force majeure, in this context, is a legal notice that absolves an oil firm of liabilities for failure to meet supply obligations to crude oil buyers due to circumstances beyond the firm's control. This term literally takes the blame from an oil company that gave vent to it and squarely places same on the country where such a firm is operating.

For this to happen in our country, it proves that our environment is hostile to the survival of these companies to the extent that they cannot cope anymore. It is something akin to the last resort available to the oil firms and gives an inkling of how bad the situation is. But wait for it, you shall understand presently.

The Italian oil firm ENI and SPDC fall among the four oil companies that have recently sued for force majeure. ENI, on April 1 this year, shut down its activities in the swampy oil fields of Bayelsa State over crude oil theft. It had lamented that 7000 barrels of about 40000 barrels of crude it produced from the facilities was lost to oil thieves.

Did I just hear thieves? Oil thieves for that matter! Don't mind me, ever since I heard of a thief who stole a governor's cell phone worth N50000 and got a jail term of 45 years, I always feel pity for thieves who go after higher things like oil because they may be risking hundred years of their lives, if not more, imprisonment. But of course, not in Nigeria! In fact, these oil thieves steal with impunity even before those who are supposed to prevent them.

Shell Petroleum Development Company too could not spare opting for force majeure on its production of Bonny Light Crude following the ubiquitous crude oil theft. This led it to effectively shut down a whopping 150000 barrels per day worth of Bonny Light Crude. All at the expense of Nigeria.

These have aggregated to take us back to the days when militancy was at its apogee in the Niger Delta. This, it has done by causing Nigeria to export the same amount of crude as it could in the height of the Niger Delta insurgency. This was confirmed by a Reuters report.

According to the international news agency, which on Tuesday quoted a shipping list it saw, Nigeria now exports 1.76 million barrels per day, the lowest since August 2009 when the Niger Delta debacle was successfully (or unsuccessfully?) resolved by the federal government.

Categorically speaking, the current figure of crude export is the lowest to be recorded by Nigeria since August 2009 when the Yar'Adua administration, by granting amnesty to the Niger Delta militants, made them pledge to stop sabotaging the nation's oil export drive. With the situation on ground we have gone back to the aeon that caused the country so much loss in revenue before the amnesty programme came on steam.

Considering the humongous sum sunk by government into the amnesty programme and the amount it has continued to cost the government, it is adverse that crude oil theft and pipeline vandalisation is now being allowed to pooh pooh all that money and effort. It is even more bitter that we have allowed same to scorn the major legacy we can attribute to late president Umar Musa Yar'Adua.

For those involved or encouraging this ruinous act, pray, where is your love for country? Oh, permit my woolgathering that patriotism has long departed from our dictionary. Those involved would gleefully intimate you that they are only benefiting from their own share of the 'national cake.' And unfettered benefit they are really in for as government appears at sea on how to contain them.

What have continued to confound most Nigerians is that the current administration is reported to be paying several billions of naira to ex Niger Delta war lords to block oil theft and guard oil installations, yet the situation is deteriorating yet they haven't been disengaged. Nigeria, we hail thee!

There is no need telling the negative impact the new figure of oil export portends for our country's economy. Its impact will likely be felt on the national financing gap meaning that there will be drawings on reserves for augmentation. This will probably funnel into a situation where we can't guarantee the effective implementation of the 2013 budget and subsequent ones.

Further, this low figure of oil export and the staggering quantity of oil export caused by crude oil theft is capable of denting Nigeria's hitherto reputation as a reliable exporter with security of supply. With this image forfeited, buyers could go after other markets that promises more stability of supply.

Our plight is further fevered by the trend that sees many countries discovering oil in commercial quantity. Countries like Uganda, Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire as well as Brazil and the United States have been found to have enormous reserve of crude oil. Nigeria, therefore, cannot keep handling whatever that affects its crude oil export with kid gloves.

Nonetheless, it is times like this that make plausible the call for government to encourage the diversification of the economy. Since it is becoming apparent that government can't contain crude oil theft, let it at least encourage the stimulation of other sectors of the economy so we wouldn't become slaves to the thieves.

Structural problems that inhibits this like power failure, absence of the needed infrastructures should be adequately addressed. Assess to funds should be made easy with institutions and the policy space improved upon to attract more private capital both from within and outside the country.

That notwithstanding, government is not excused from the responsibility of putting an end to crude oil theft. If government is not that troubled by the negative effect it has on the economy and image of our nation, it should at least be bothered by the environmental degradation it brings on its wake.

Those behind this heinous crime are no ghosts, government should thus go all out to round them up, else it risks fuelling the suspicion of its complicity in the illegality. It should think out strategies that can effectively deal with the menace. With all the resources and personnel at its disposal, it is unacceptable for government to allow this to continue unless there is more to it than we already know.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, you can react by sending a mail to ug.ugovester@gmail.com

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Since the Supreme Court, over a week ago, gave the Attorney General of the Federation,AGF, Mohammed Bello Adoke(SAN), the nod to prosecute the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra(MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and six others for allegedly committing treason against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, no mean fuss has trailed the pronouncement.

This stir is absolutely expedient even as it is largely misunderstood. For one, government is being asked to arraign the key members of MASSOB- a non violent group, when the same government is bargaining an amnesty for members of Boko Haram- an extremist terrorist organisation.

Not only that, government had in time past bestowed amnesty on the equally cataclysmic Niger Delta militants albeit their agitation had a more logical footing. Further, months ago, the now government pardoned some corrupt elements certified to have wrought economic and image ruins on the country.

Hence, it is on this ground that one gets to acknowledge the odium that awaits the government should it buckled to the call by the apex court for the MASSOB guys to be indicted for treason. For how can a government this generous with clemency shut its doors to an 'offender' who qualifies for it the most?

If by any chance we still pride ourselves as votaries of meritocracy shouldn't merit demand us granting a privilege to the one most deserving of it? Unless, merit like other worthy virtues have suddenly become alien to us. That is the direction of the argument of those admonishing government to jettison what the Court has asked it to do.

You would be mistaken to think this admonition is just from those who are of the Igbo extraction, people from other tribes are impressing it on the government as well, among them is Ayodele Akele- a pro-democracy campaigner.

How I wish it stops as an appeal on government to do what is right in the temple of equity and justice. How I fancy it being that simple. But it is not, as there are those threatening fire and brimstone should government went ahead to try the MASSOB elements for treason as directed by the Court.

Those giving vent to this intimidatory posture are members of MASSOB who have threatened to shut down the country if the federal government proceeded to do what it was asked to do. The group speaking through its regional administrator of Onitsha North, Vincent Ilo said the group who have remained non violent, would have been pushed to the wall.

You apparently need not be told what a goat pushed to the wall does. But can government afford what becomes of that after effect? I don't think so! This is because our past experience have shown that the federal government can only underestimate any group that can turn violent at its own peril.

When government forces were rounding up members of the boko haram sect and extra judicially snuffing the live out of many of them in 2009, they never reckoned that the sect they thought have been extinguished will like a phoenix resurface to become a real thorn on the nation's flesh.

Even the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike in an interview with Daily Sun declared that his group may abandon its non-violent approach and toe the line of the boko haram since it is the language of violence that the federal government better understands.

But one is appalled at the sheer misunderstanding of those already hurling insults and expletives at the federal government for 'trying to prosecute the accused for treason.' They failed to realise that we have three distinct arms of government and that what is currently raising dust emanated from the judicial arm with the present executive yet to take a stand on it.

Another point of contradiction is that those using this as an opportunity to excoriate the already beleaguered Jonathan's presidency do not take cognisance of the fact that the court case that produced the verdict pre-dated his ascension to the throne of the vice president not to talk of that of the president. It, indeed, started even before boko haram was made manifest. Ergo, this trip down memory lane will come handy.

It was on November the eight, 2005 that the federal government under president Obasanjo arraigned the accused persons before the Federal High Court on a four-count criminal charge bothering on treasonable felony.

Then it accused those arraigned of belonging to a militant group called MASSOB training with the intent to levy war to overthrow the president as well as the government. If only the then government had experienced NDPVF and the boko haram sect, it would have chosen a more apt phrase than the misnomer 'militant group.'

The government further claimed that the accused persons who it said were top officials at the MASSOB headquarters on diverse dates between January 2004 and October 2005 at Owerri and other places in Nigeria, 'with intent to levy war, overawe and overthrow the legitimate government of Nigeria' conspired to commit felony to wit: treason against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges and through their counsel, Festus Keyamo, urged the trial court to quash it for being incompetent and base, contending that there was no proof of evidence indicting them to the commission of any crime known to law. Notwithstanding, the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako refused to either quash the charges or release the accused persons on bail.

This prompted Keyamo to take the case before the Appeal Court in Abuja which on May the 15, 2008, after so much public outcry, granted them bail but refused to dismiss the charge. Unfulfilled, the accused persons proceeded with the case to the supreme court. There it lingered till we got to the present.

It then becomes clear that so far, President Jonathan has no hand in the case other than the fact that his government has now been asked to prosecute the accused. But if he went for it, that's when he would have portrayed himself as 'an enemy of the Igbo nation.' But for now, he is as innocent in the matter as a man in whom no vile is found.

Do we then hold the courts responsible? Absolutely not, since they are only doing their job. The pronouncement can be appreciated in the light that they aren't on the executive's beat to know how difficult it is to contain an aggrieved group out to punish the state for a perceived injustice meted out to them.

It is members of the executive arm who receives the heat in their bid to quell same yet gets seen as ineffective and clueless that should be more circumspect in pushing a group with the propensity for violence to the wall. Since the current security impasse ravaging the country has got their hands overflowing, I see no space to accommodate another insurgency.

But beyond the kerfuffle that has permeated the mediaosphere over the pronouncement are two didactic lessons; first, we have a weak state that appears to have incapacitated the systemic workings of our society. Terrorism and threats of the use of terror is preventing the state from doing what it is required to do. Indeed, insurgency has become a bargaining tool. How sad!

Again, we have been made to, in clear terms, see the backlash of court cases taking too long before being decided upon. Had the courts finished with this case shortly after it was instituted, there would have been no amnesty for the Niger Delta militants and that proposed for boko haram members to have made people allege injustice or marginalisation. This calls for quick dispensation of justice to bar unforeseen bottlenecks such as this.

Nontheless, the first lesson shouldn't spoil the government into taking an unpopular stand by going ahead to prosecute the MASSOB top guns. That might trigger a militancy that can further portray the government as weak and incapable of protecting the lives and property of its citizens. It can also throw up cases of human right abuses.

We have seen these in the Niger Delta and in parts of the North. May government by its own action not escalate what we had seen and are currently seeing. It should not, by continuing the trial of Uwazuruike and co, sow the wind else a harvest of the whirlwind may be lurking around.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, you can follow him on twitter via @ugsylvester

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Since the Supreme Court, over a week ago, gave the Attorney General of the Federation,AGF, Mohammed Bello Adoke(SAN), the nod to prosecute the leader of the Movement for the Actualization of the Sovereign State of Biafra(MASSOB), Chief Ralph Uwazuruike and six others for allegedly committing treason against the Federal Republic of Nigeria, no mean fuss has trailed the pronouncement.

This stir is absolutely expedient even as it is largely misunderstood. For one, government is being asked to arraign the key members of MASSOB- a non violent group, when the same government is bargaining an amnesty for members of Boko Haram- an extremist terrorist organisation.

Not only that, government had in time past bestowed amnesty on the equally cataclysmic Niger Delta militants albeit their agitation had a more logical footing. Further, months ago, the now government pardoned some corrupt elements certified to have wrought economic and image ruins on the country.

Hence, it is on this ground that one gets to acknowledge the odium that awaits the government should it buckled to the call by the apex court for the MASSOB guys to be indicted for treason. For how can a government this generous with clemency shut its doors to an 'offender' who qualifies for it the most?

If by any chance we still pride ourselves as votaries of meritocracy shouldn't merit demand us granting a privilege to the one most deserving of it? Unless, merit like other worthy virtues have suddenly become alien to us. That is the direction of the argument of those admonishing government to jettison what the Court has asked it to do.

You would be mistaken to think this admonition is just from those who are of the Igbo extraction, people from other tribes are impressing it on the government as well, among them is Ayodele Akele- a pro-democracy campaigner.

How I wish it stops as an appeal on government to do what is right in the temple of equity and justice. How I fancy it being that simple. But it is not, as there are those threatening fire and brimstone should government went ahead to try the MASSOB elements for treason as directed by the Court.

Those giving vent to this intimidatory posture are members of MASSOB who have threatened to shut down the country if the federal government proceeded to do what it was asked to do. The group speaking through its regional administrator of Onitsha North, Vincent Ilo said the group who have remained non violent, would have been pushed to the wall.

You apparently need not be told what a goat pushed to the wall does. But can government afford what becomes of that after effect? I don't think so! This is because our past experience have shown that the federal government can only underestimate any group that can turn violent at its own peril.

When government forces were rounding up members of the boko haram sect and extra judicially snuffing the live out of many of them in 2009, they never reckoned that the sect they thought have been extinguished will like a phoenix resurface to become a real thorn on the nation's flesh.

Even the leader of MASSOB, Chief Ralph Uwazuruike in an interview with Daily Sun declared that his group may abandon its non-violent approach and toe the line of the boko haram since it is the language of violence that the federal government better understands.

But one is appalled at the sheer misunderstanding of those already hurling insults and expletives at the federal government for 'trying to prosecute the accused for treason.' They failed to realise that we have three distinct arms of government and that what is currently raising dust emanated from the judicial arm with the present executive yet to take a stand on it.

Another point of contradiction is that those using this as an opportunity to excoriate the already beleaguered Jonathan's presidency do not take cognisance of the fact that the court case that produced the verdict pre-dated his ascension to the throne of the vice president not to talk of that of the president. It, indeed, started even before boko haram was made manifest. Ergo, this trip down memory lane will come handy.

It was on November the eight, 2005 that the federal government under president Obasanjo arraigned the accused persons before the Federal High Court on a four-count criminal charge bothering on treasonable felony.

Then it accused those arraigned of belonging to a militant group called MASSOB training with the intent to levy war to overthrow the president as well as the government. If only the then government had experienced NDPVF and the boko haram sect, it would have chosen a more apt phrase than the misnomer 'militant group.'

The government further claimed that the accused persons who it said were top officials at the MASSOB headquarters on diverse dates between January 2004 and October 2005 at Owerri and other places in Nigeria, 'with intent to levy war, overawe and overthrow the legitimate government of Nigeria' conspired to commit felony to wit: treason against the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The accused persons pleaded not guilty to the charges and through their counsel, Festus Keyamo, urged the trial court to quash it for being incompetent and base, contending that there was no proof of evidence indicting them to the commission of any crime known to law. Notwithstanding, the trial judge, Justice Binta Nyako refused to either quash the charges or release the accused persons on bail.

This prompted Keyamo to take the case before the Appeal Court in Abuja which on May the 15, 2008, after so much public outcry, granted them bail but refused to dismiss the charge. Unfulfilled, the accused persons proceeded with the case to the supreme court. There it lingered till we got to the present.

It then becomes clear that so far, President Jonathan has no hand in the case other than the fact that his government has now been asked to prosecute the accused. But if he went for it, that's when he would have portrayed himself as 'an enemy of the Igbo nation.' But for now, he is as innocent in the matter as a man in whom no vile is found.

Do we then hold the courts responsible? Absolutely not, since they are only doing their job. The pronouncement can be appreciated in the light that they aren't on the executive's beat to know how difficult it is to contain an aggrieved group out to punish the state for a perceived injustice meted out to them.

It is members of the executive arm who receives the heat in their bid to quell same yet gets seen as ineffective and clueless that should be more circumspect in pushing a group with the propensity for violence to the wall. Since the current security impasse ravaging the country has got their hands overflowing, I see no space to accommodate another insurgency.

But beyond the kerfuffle that has permeated the mediaosphere over the pronouncement are two didactic lessons; first, we have a weak state that appears to have incapacitated the systemic workings of our society. Terrorism and threats of the use of terror is preventing the state from doing what it is required to do. Indeed, insurgency has become a bargaining tool. How sad!

Again, we have been made to, in clear terms, see the backlash of court cases taking too long before being decided upon. Had the courts finished with this case shortly after it was instituted, there would have been no amnesty for the Niger Delta militants and that proposed for boko haram members to have made people allege injustice or marginalisation. This calls for quick dispensation of justice to bar unforeseen bottlenecks such as this.

Nontheless, the first lesson shouldn't spoil the government into taking an unpopular stand by going ahead to prosecute the MASSOB top guns. That might trigger a militancy that can further portray the government as weak and incapable of protecting the lives and property of its citizens. It can also throw up cases of human right abuses.

We have seen these in the Niger Delta and in parts of the North. May government by its own action not escalate what we had seen and are currently seeing. It should not, by continuing the trial of Uwazuruike and co, sow the wind else a harvest of the whirlwind may be lurking around.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, you can follow him on twitter via @ugsylvester

Defiled LPG: Buyers beware!
by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Before we hear an explosion in another part of the country different from their hotbeds and think that the boko haram sect has enlarged its frontiers, let us know that we have an off-specification commodity in this country with the tendency of creating a devastating impact similar to their craft.

This bootleg goods refers to the adulterated cooking gas imported into the country from Niger Republic by some businessmen without scrupulousness. In the stead of cooking gas, they have imported imminent deaths into Nigeria in a sheer bid to widen their profit margin!

Imminent deaths because the Niger-sourced Liquefied Petroleum Gas(LPG) otherwise known as cooking gas has a greater proportion of the highly explosive propane than the LPG sourced from the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas(NLNG) Limited and refineries within the country which consists mostly of the less dangerous butane.

Experts and industry players say the cooking gas coming in from Niger Republic contained 45 per cent butane and 55 per cent propane, stressing that the 55 per cent propane content was very high and is characterised by intense pressure.

As at last year, the Chairman LPG Group, Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry- Mr Bambo Ademiluyi had said, "Propane is stored at a higher pressure. Most of our vessels, tanks and cylinders are not designed to store that level of propane. We are not used to such level of pressure."

This subject was substantially buttressed at the Annual General Meeting of the Nigerian Association of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Marketers (NALPGM) which held in Lagos last Tuesday. There, the outgoing president of the Association- Mr Mouruff Onabule who confirmed the circulation of the dangerous LPG in Nigeria warned NALPGM members to desist from patronising the variant from Niger Republic.

Also speaking, the National President of Liquefied Petroleum Gas Reps Association of Nigeria- Mr Odo Gbolahan belaboured the fact that the pressure of the gas imported from Niger Republic was four times higher than that of the cooking gas used in Nigeria.

According to him, "The propane gas they are bringing from the Niger axis is four times the pressure of the gas that is meant to be used in Nigeria. The propane gas is meant to be used in the Western world with cold climate because the rate at which the LPG will be evaporating in that place is very low. The propane is not meant for Nigeria with hot climate because the pressure can burst cylinders and hoses."

But given that the situation is this dire and that it has lasted for a while, why are we yet to record any publicised case of an explosion caused by the adulterated cooking gas. I guess this is one of the instances where our intercessory prowess pays off.

It is a common knowledge that no other nation comes close to us in terms of our devotion to religion. We are so religious that our bigotry begets us doing unimaginable things for our faith but when it comes to living the morally-sound life advocated by our religions we falter.

Little wonder we have con-businessmen who place more premium on profit than on the life of a fellow human. But what shall it profit a businessman if he makes all the money and in the process cause the death of others? Absolutely nothing but ultimate woes and eternal damnation!

Like I was saying, it isn't as if the mischief of these perverse marketers couldn't cause mayhem. Our prayers for God's protection must have kept the danger in the loop. Even the prayer of a neighbour who wouldn't want himself and his belongings consumed, should the dreaded happened, could have made it appear as if there is no danger inherent in the debased product.

But we can't continue this way and expect the Almighty to watch our front when we can effectively handle that. Yes, it has become a case of asking Him to watch our front because some are in the know of the imminent danger attached to buying the risk-filled LPG yet they go for it because it appears cheaper. But they forget the dictum that a cheap commodity isn't cheap after all and even forget the pigeon English version which held that, "awuf dey run belle."

Though a truism that the cooking gas currently being supplied by the NLNG and Nigerian refineries is exorbitant, it doesn't warrant the marketers selling to Nigerians an LPG of 15 bars when what is recommended for our environment is that of five bars. Shouldn't the welfare and safety of our people rank more than whatever money or returns a marketer stands to make?

Some have reasoned that the criticisms is just a propaganda aimed at favouring the NLNG in the competition between it and its rival's product coming in from elsewhere. However, while this may be true, different experts and other stakeholders have at least adduced unassailable justification that should make us want to tow the path of safety.

If the foregoing is the truth, then should the marketers involved in the vicious act be made to know that they are not different from the boko haram adherents who have unleashed countless deaths and terror on this country. Both parties stands to share the same nemesis in an event of the wicked marketers' greed effecting any explosion!

It is greatly unacceptable for stakeholders, especially the hierarchy, to warn its members to desist from patronising the LPG sourced from Niger Republic and leave it at that. The lures of quick cash can easily make members with banal virtue not to heed such warnings.

They should set up a task force that will see to it that the consumers are not allowed to buy deaths or danger in the name of buying cooking gas. Where such a task force exists, it should be emboldened to bite and not just bark.

The federal government cannot be left out in the face of this sharp practise gaining grounds among marketers of LPG. It should as a matter of necessity crash the price of the locally-sourced LPG so that the perverse marketers will have nothing to hold on to in luring gullible consumers to its side.

Government agencies like the Standard Organisation of Nigeria(SON), under whose remit squarely falls this issue, should step up their pace in removing substandard LPG from the reach of consumers. The consumer themselves should apply caution when buying cooking gas so as not to buy a product that would be detrimental to them and those around them.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja, you can reach him on ug.ugovester@gmail.com

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
It is true that we have no business eulogizing government for doing what is expected of it, but given the public outcry that precipitated its action and the need for us to see more of such responsiveness, we are duty bound to.

Of course nobody applauds a father for standing against any external aggression targeted at his children. There is really nothing cheer-worthy in that! But when a father, notorious for inaction when his child is pummelled or rants to the extent that his ranting doesn't get to the ears of the aggressor, turns round into extracting recompense for his injured child, then does that father deserve our collective approbation.

This aptly applies to the Federal Government of Nigeria. It appears to have gone beyond mere vociferating whenever Nigerians citizens are taken for a ride into making a return ride out of it! This feat, it has recorded in Ghana and is spoiling to bring same reprieve to our citizens in the Bakassi Peninsula.

To quell your curiosity on the accomplishment being referred to, the Federal Government has succeeded in securing a reversal of the Ghanaian government's closure of over 40 shops belonging to Nigerian traders which were closed on February 6, 2013 for alleged violation of Ghana's laws on trading by foreigners.

If this hits you as puny, do realise that many Nigerians called on government to act when the news broke out. Pundits took to the issue x-raying it under different shades. Even the affected traders, who told that they made the market, were unequivocal in their call for government to intervene.

Thank goodness, the Federal Government stepped in, now the traders can get back to their means of livelihood. This calls for commendation as the government could have continued in its over-beaten track of not giving a damn. It gives us a ray of hope that all is not lost.

As the United States President, Barack Obama postulated, "if the people cannot trust their government to do the job for which it exists- to protect them and to promote their common welfare- all else is lost."

The enthralling thing about this intrusion by the government is that it didn't startle our ears with much promises about handling the matter, instead it swung into action and came forth with a result. Result is the outcome of action not promise! It is as if government knows that its pledges count for nothing to the citizens hence their quiet approach in doing what should be done and regaling us with the news at the apropos time.

The news was disclosed at the inauguration of the National Organising Committee for the seventh ECOWAS Trade Fair holding in Accra between October 24 to November 4, 2013 by Nigeria's Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment- Dr Samuel Ortom who assured, "we are working with our foreign affairs counterpart to ensure that we interface with Ghanaian officials to stop the harassment of our traders in Ghana."

Maybe, we can accommodate his promise considering the respite their action has come about. For the agreement to re-open the shops was reached at a meeting between the Ghanaian Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr Haruna Idrissu and a Nigerian delegation to Ghana led by Dr Ortom.

The Ghanaian trade minister, who pointed out some issues of violation of mutual agreement which the Nigerian government promised to look into, expressed happiness over the way Nigeria handled the issue.

But then one may be tempted to ask: why won't the Ghanaian minister express happiness when the Nigerian delegation never bothered him with the kind of agreement it was that the other party(Nigeria traders) are oblivious of and that contravenes an extant ECOWAS protocol to that effect?

Again, why won't Mr Idrissu be happy when we didn't give his country the Mosaic Law treatment of, in the same measure, closing their shops here in Nigeria? Oh, I forgot that we don't have much of their shops around. Their country is now so flourishing that gone are the days when they and their businesses were so ubiquitous in our country.

While government commands compliments for achieving expected result as regards the closure of Nigerian shops debacle, it will be more instructive for the Nigerian government to do more in retaining Nigerian businessmen in the country instead of allowing them relocate to develop other lands and get badgering in return.

Dr Ortom whose ministry is key to trade and investment in this country should use what is happening to Nigerians in Ghana, nay other countries, as a springboard into executing such policies that will make Nigeria more investment friendly for Nigerians and non-Nigerians.

For only then will there be no need for him and other government officials to leave their duty posts here in Nigeria to go and massage the egos of the Ghanaian authorities into unlocking the shops of Nigerians that should not be locked in the first place! And for the Minister's promise of working to stop further harassment of Nigerian traders in Ghana, it's hoped he lives up to that.

Still on the country standing up in defence of its citizens, the Minister of Interior, Mr Abah Moro, has assured Nigerians living in the troubled Bakassi Peninsula that the federal government was taking measures to protect them from the belligerence of the Cameroonian gendarmes.

He spoke against the backdrop of some 17 Nigerians feared killed with 1900 others displaced when the gendarmes attacked them in their village- Efut Obot Ikot. Indeed, many are the afflictions of Nigerians, but it is incumbent on the government to deliver us from them all. For that is the prime reason for government's actuality!

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja. You can follow him on twitter via @ugsylvester.

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Lokoja, the Kogi State Capital came alive on Easter Monday as the state government in collaboration with the National Open University of Nigeria and the Confluence Cable Network Ltd hosted an event tagged, "Conquering Mount Patti 2013."

The occasion which kicked-off a little before 6a.m. attracted lots of adventurers who undertook climbing the high-altitude Mount Patti till they reached the zenith. However, vehicles were readily available for those whose doggedness couldn't carry them to the peak

There was no dull moment even in the course of the mountaineering exercise for a historian provided background to major landmarks encountered. Some of these include the relics of the Lord Lugard rest house, a radio station that then was and a towering baobar tree planted by Lord Lugard himself.

Getting to the top of Mount Patti provided a lovely aerial view of the ancient city of Lokoja. It also afforded the Conquerors an opportunity of seeing and appreciating the sublime mating of Rivers Benue and Niger. They were equally at liberty to inscribe their monikers on that mighty tree that was given life to by the late Lord Lugurd. If you are at a loss as regards the connection between Lord Lugard and Mount Patti, hold your peace for that was over flogged at the mountain top!

Those who persevered to the hair of Patti, got the pat on the back they verily deserved. First, they were made to rehydrate, refresh and reflect with as much chilled bottled-water as they cared for. They were also given souvenirs of a quality black tee-shirt and umbrellas crested with the message, "I Conquered Mount Patti." And this, to me, is a certification of some sort.

For the Conquering Mount Patti 2013 programme which held on the Plateau of Patti, three pavilions were created and they housed the children, youths with one designated as general.
Those in the general section relished a seminal lecture delivered by a renowned historian and a former president of UNESCO- Professor Michael Omolewa who spoke to the paper titled, "Lokoja and the Migration of Nigeria's Capital Cities: An Exploratory Study."

He, in the lecture, said that Tubman Goldie earlier made Lokoja to be relevant before Lugard, stressing that Lokoja was chosen by Goldie as the capital of the Royal Niger Company. Later, Lugard was recruited by Goldie under a clear terms of reference in which he was to be subordinate to the decisions of the Royal Niger Company.

Goldie also made Lokoja his military capital during the scramble and occupation of Nigeria and went ahead to make his company establish a British Consul in the city. It was on January 1,1900 at Lokoja that the Union Jack replaced the Niger Company's flag. This allowed Colonel Lugard to formally assume the Office of the High Commission for Upper Nigeria.

Nonetheless, two years down the line in 1902, Lord Lugard designated Zungeru as his new capital for the reason Prof. Omolewa believes was because Lokoja wasn't along the rail line. The Lecturer went on to disclose that despite its loss of the capital seat, Lokoja remained the centre for information dissemination in the whole region.

He further told that it was from this Mount Patti that Lord Lugard's then Mistress- Flora Shaw who at that time was a correspondent for Reuters News Agency suggested that the country be named Nigeria.

Professor Omolewa's well-received lecture was attended by comments and questions which bordered on why Lokoja, with such remarkable history, appears sidelined in the contrivance of things in the country especially as it concerns the forthcoming centenary celebration.

In his retort, the widely-travelled diplomat held that Lokoja should renew and celebrate itself as the capital. He equally advised those who had gathered to take a resolution, to be addressed to the appropriate quarters, calling for Lokoja to be made relevant to the centenary celebration.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the Conquering Mount Patti 2013 and Secretary to the Kogi State Government, Professor Olugbemiro Jegede said that in 1884, Lokoja became the capital of Nigeria through Goldie of the Royal Niger Company, Lord Lugard continued with that in 1887. He maintained that the only thing that can't be taken away from Lokoja is the fact that Nigeria got her name from here!

There was another lecture at the event which was titled "Security Challenges and Sustainable Tourism" delivered by the Director General of National Institute for Hospitality and Tourism- Dr Musalim Dantata who said that for tourists to come, Kogi State has to make an investment as the top of Mount Patti is a virgin mountain top with no hotel, restaurant or bar.

He dismissed as wishful thinking, the thought that the Federal Government will make Lokoja key to the centenary celebration stressing that it is up to the government and people of Kogi State to strategize on the marketing strategy that will sell Lokoja to the centenary celebration organisers.

Dr Dantata who rued the dearth of an international tourism product in Nigeria averred that tourism is not about wishful thinking but is a manufacturing process where the consumers come to the factory to enjoy the product.

Speaking at the event, the state governor- Captain Idris Wada represented by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Anthony Puke said, "The position of Lokoja in the scheme of things in Nigeria can't be underestimated because the name Nigeria was coined from this plateau- Mount Patti. I am confident that repositioning Kogi state in the scheme of things in Nigeria is a matter of time."
He went on to state that It's the drive of his government to have every serving president of Nigeria pay a visit to Mount Patti by way of taking a time off from official engagements to rest.

The conquering Mount Patti 2013 which offered lots of food and drinks to all in attendance was further flavoured by cultural dance performances from the Kogi State Cultural Troupe and scintillating musical renditions by the Eno Louis Afro Jazz Rock Masters.

Ugochukwu writes from Lokoja. You can follow him on twitter via @ugsylvester

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Youths Development, Hon. Kamir M. Akinlabi on Friday led seven members of his committee to inspect facilities in Asaya Camp after which they had a session with corps members.

Addressing the corps members, Hon. Kamir said they came to let the corps members know they are aware of the challenges the corps members are facing, stressing that it is in this light that they want to remove the NYSC Act from the constitution and make it an Act of its own.

The Committee Chairman who disclosed they were in Kwara State the day before for the same purpose and got the cooperation of the state governor said, "NYSC Orientation Camp and its facilities belong to state governments. As we leave here, we are going to meet with the Governor of Kogi State to table all we have seen before him and I know he will approve them."

He continued that if the youths are the pillars of national development, then nothing is too much to be spent on the Nigerian youth. He called on his listeners not to hesitate in addressing their petitions to the National Assembly as it will be looked into.

Earlier on, the State Coordinator, Mr A.A Enweonwu in his address outlined activities put in place to make the corps members' stay in camp worthwhile as lectures, skills acquisition training, social activities etc. He said they are designed to guide the corps members on choices they make while in the field.

Mr Enweonwu who expressed delight over the committee members' visit told the august visitors that the 2013 Batch 'A' corps members are the best behaved set of corps members so far hosted in Asaya Camp since it was set up in 1999.

The committees members who visited include: Hon. Godfrey Gaya, Hon. M. Hakeem, Hon. Omar Nafada, Hon. Hanani Haskia, Hon. Johnson Adeoba and Hon Saheed Fijabi. As the event was rounding off, the chairman attended to questions directed to him by some five corps members.

Ugochukwu writes from Asaya Orientation Camp in Kogi state. Follow him on twitter via @ugsylvester.

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Last Tuesday, all routes led to Kabbah in Kogi State as the not-so-busy town played host to a set of determined fresh graduates. From all four corners of the country, they came and their mission was to partake of the 2013 Batch A orientation course organised by the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.

Even the roads of Kogi State could testify to the influx of visitors into the State. The vehicular traffic was hectic and vehicles were packed full of passengers comprising substantially of youths. Even commercial motorcyclists took part in the frenzy.

They and the commercial drivers made brisk business as they ferried youths coming into the State to one sure destination- Kabbah. It afforded the avaricious ones among them the opportunity to prey on the visitors by taking advantage of them by a wide margin. I nearly fell a victim but for the advice given me by a serving corps member in the State. She hinted me on the fare I am expected to pay for each drop.

On getting to the camp gate, my eyes immediately caught the sight of a mammoth crowd all struggling to get through with the registration process. This had the propensity of making an arrival like me conclude that it would take beyond a day for the registration procedure to be done. This was to be expected as it is the first day of camping. Yet, it did not take long for this fear to be allayed courtesy of NYSC Kogi's ingenuity in providing enough units to cater for the prospective corps members.

From the entry port, bags were searched by camp officials for outlawed items. After this, I was directed to the computer room where my documents were vetted and my data entered into the system. This got me a platoon to where I immediately proceeded for my kits, mattress and meal ticket. And so went the first day!

The 2013 Batch A swearing-in ceremony is a day away. To this end, training of corps members were taken a notch higher. After the early morning parade and light jogging, the entire platoons were given portions they are expected to clean up and they went about it!

Trainings for the next day's event took a significant part of the day. The soldiers drilled the corps members to a point of perfection. Later in the day, there was a session where the Camp Director addressed the corps members and attended to their questions.

The much anticipated day saw a sublime array of corps members in their ceremonial wear. They had gathered early and appeared ready to be formally inducted into the one year national youth service.

The Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada could not make it to the occasion but was represented by the State's Commissioner for Youths and Sports- Dr Anthony Tunde Okeh.

In his address, the Governor congratulated the corps members for the successful completion of their studies. He told that the orientation course is to equip the corps members physically,socially, mentally and psychologically to face challenges during and beyond the national service.

Speaking along the purpose of the event, the Governor said, "The swearing-in ceremony performed by the Chief Judge today is important in the discharge of your functions of national service." He pointedly disclosed that the corps members will be held accountable for their actions on the account of the swearing-in.

Before administering the oath of allegiance, the Kogi State Chief judge- Honourable Justice Richard Ajana represented by Justice Richard Olurunfemi said, "It is a great pleasure witnessing the occasion of your swearing-in again as members of Batch A 2013." He warned that what the corps members are about to undertake is a solemn event and that they should see it as such.

Earlier in an address, the State Coordinator of NYSC, Mr. A.A. Enweonwu stated that at the close of registration by 12 midnight on March 6, 2013, 1629 corps members were registered for the 2013 Batch A Orientation course. This figure comprised of 733 males and 896 females.

According to him, "The swearing-in ceremony is important because it commits corps members to the oath of unalloyed service to their fatherland."

Side attractions in the event included a tug of war competition, the inspection of the corps members by the Governor and the signing of the oath of allegiance forms of six corps members representing the six geo-political zones of the country by the State Chief Judge. Ugochukwu writes from Asaya Camp in Kogi State, reach him on ug.ugovester@gmail.com

NYSC orientation course as it began in Asaya Camp
by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Last Tuesday, all routes led to Kabbah in Kogi State as the not-so-busy town played host to a set of determined fresh graduates. From all four corners of the country, they came and their mission was to partake of the 2013 Batch A orientation course organised by the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC.

Even the roads of Kogi State could testify to the influx of visitors into the State. The vehicular traffic was hectic and vehicles were packed full of passengers comprising substantially of youths. Even commercial motorcyclists took part in the frenzy.

They and the commercial drivers made brisk business as they ferried youths coming into the State to one sure destination- Kabbah. It afforded the avaricious ones among them the opportunity to prey on the visitors by taking advantage of them by a wide margin. I nearly fell a victim but for the advice given me by a serving corps member in the State. She hinted me on the fare I am expected to pay for each drop.

On getting to the camp gate, my eyes immediately caught the sight of a mammoth crowd all struggling to get through with the registration process. This had the propensity of making an arrival like me conclude that it would take beyond a day for the registration procedure to be done. This was to be expected as it is the first day of camping. Yet, it did not take long for this fear to be allayed courtesy of NYSC Kogi's ingenuity in providing enough units to cater for the prospective corps members.

From the entry port, bags were searched by camp officials for outlawed items. After this, I was directed to the computer room where my documents were vetted and my data entered into the system. This got me a platoon to where I immediately proceeded for my kits, mattress and meal ticket. And so went the first day!

The 2013 Batch A swearing-in ceremony is a day away. To this end, training of corps members were taken a notch higher. After the early morning parade and light jogging, the entire platoons were given portions they are expected to clean up and they went about it!

Trainings for the next day's event took a significant part of the day. The soldiers drilled the corps members to a point of perfection. Later in the day, there was a session where the Camp Director addressed the corps members and attended to their questions.

The much anticipated day saw a sublime array of corps members in their ceremonial wear. They had gathered early and appeared ready to be formally inducted into the one year national youth service.

The Governor of Kogi State, Captain Idris Wada could not make it to the occasion but was represented by the State's Commissioner for Youths and Sports- Dr Anthony Tunde Okeh.

In his address, the Governor congratulated the corps members for the successful completion of their studies. He told that the orientation course is to equip the corps members physically,socially, mentally and psychologically to face challenges during and beyond the national service.

Speaking along the purpose of the event, the Governor said, "The swearing-in ceremony performed by the Chief Judge today is important in the discharge of your functions of national service." He pointedly disclosed that the corps members will be held accountable for their actions on the account of the swearing-in.

Before administering the oath of allegiance, the Kogi State Chief judge- Honourable Justice Richard Ajana represented by Justice Richard Olurunfemi said, "It is a great pleasure witnessing the occasion of your swearing-in again as members of Batch A 2013." He warned that what the corps members are about to undertake is a solemn event and that they should see it as such.

Earlier in an address, the State Coordinator of NYSC, Mr. A.A. Enweonwu stated that at the close of registration by 12 midnight on March 6, 2013, 1629 corps members were registered for the 2013 Batch A Orientation course. This figure comprised of 733 males and 896 females.

According to him, "The swearing-in ceremony is important because it commits corps members to the oath of unalloyed service to their fatherland."

Side attractions in the event included a tug of war competition, the inspection of the corps members by the Governor and the signing of the oath of allegiance forms of six corps members representing the six geo-political zones of the country by the State Chief Judge. Ugochukwu writes from Asaya Camp in Kogi State, reach him on ug.ugovester@gmail.com

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
Sometime in the week just gone by, DailyPost published an investigative reportage on the state of infrastructure in primary schools in parts of Enugu State. That effort yielded a tale of woes as no respite could be found in any of the select schools. Yet, It isn't as if only schools with despicable infrastructure were cherry-picked, further checks by this writer indicated the grim situation is pervasive across hinterlands in the state and I suppose other parts of the country.

The wretchedness ranges from lack of chalks to collapsed or collapsing buildings. There are other cases of pupils having to sit on bare floors to receive lessons with their teachers using their motorcycles as improvised desk and chairs. This indeed does not allign with what Herber Hoover believe of children when he referred to them as "our most valuable resource."

If we see the children as our most valuable resource, we won't have sentenced their education to the back-burner or treated it with this monumental negligence. It will be instructive to present the situation in detail as this will help reveal our society's soul as Nelson Mandela postulated: "there can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children"

There are over 200 pupils at the Central Primary School in Ozalla. These pupils are contained in a pre-colonial dilapidated structure infested with holes. According to the teachers in the school, they have been trying to get the attention of government towards the completion of an abandoned classroom block to no avail.

One of them said in confidence: "you can see that uncompleted classroom block, it would have reduced our problems. When the headmaster was posted here in 2010, he got the phone number of the contractor but when he called the contractor, he said that government had not paid up the agreed contract amount to enable him finish the building."

The teacher continued, "Another problem is that we don't have enough seats,tables and public convenience. You can see for yourself that our pupils sit on bare floor while many sit on logs. When we got to Enugu last time, they told us that they don't have even chalk to give us. We use our money to buy chalk here. We need the help of government!"

Similarly, at Egbu Primary School Amalla Orba in Udenu Council Area of the State, a teacher lamented, "Our school is in total collapse. We don't receive any help from both the local and state governments. We use our money to buy chalk and other teaching materials. Most of the pupils sit on dusty grounds to receive lessons." Notice the recurring decimal.

Even in quarters where this decimal is not expected to revert, it still persists! What do you say when this abysmal situation obtains in a local government council reputed to have produced the highest number of professors in the South east geopolitical zone with over 60 professors to its credit?

That local government council is Igbo -Etiti. In one of its schools- Union Primary School, Akaibite, Ohebe Dim, one of the teachers painted a picture not different from what have become of most public primary schools in the state.

The teacher whose identity can't be revealed for obvious reasons said, "many pupils don't attend schools during rainy season for fear of the building collapsing. Painfully, the school is supposed to be the centre for the Common Entrance Examination this year, but, we were denied this because we don't have seats talk more of other facilities for the comfort of both the candidates and examiners.

"We have made several appeals to the government but nothing is coming our way. The parents have done the best they can all these years. So right now, we are surviving by the mercy of God. But my concern is for the pupils because I wonder how they would compete with their counterparts in other parts of the country."

The plight is so dire that one of the pupils interviewed said he would like to be a computer scientist so as to invent a machine that will be able to detect lies owing to our politicians' predilection for telling lies.

The pupil who is in primary four said, "I am not happy that our school does not have seats and tables for both teachers and pupils. We are begging government to help us provide all these and even renovate our school building. Many of us sit on the floor during lessons while our teachers sit outside on their motorbikes to mark our classwork."

Don't be misled into thinking this only happens in Enugu state. It in no way exonerates other states in the country when it comes to providing the necessary infrastructure for education to thrive. After all, the immediate past Chairman of the same Igbo-Etiti clinched the prestigious ALGON best Local Government Chairman Award!

If he could have won this honour in spite of the poor state of public primary schools in his domain, then you can better imagine what hold sway in other councils across the country where the award eluded their chairmen. Now we can better appreciate the state of our society's soul!

In the words of the U.S. Senator, David Vitter, "I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams." We cannot expect our children to make so much wave in the future when we have left them with no wave at the outset. The tommorrow fruits of our children is planted today.

One expected the kvetching teachers to talk about the government not paying them their salaries promptly, but they were silent on that aspect. This shows a little effort by the Enugu state government to enhance education. They should thus go a step further into meeting the infrastructure needs of pupils and their teachers in the state.

They should stop the act of ignoring complaints coming for schools especially those in rural areas. Since these schools are far- flung, complaint coming from their headmasters and headmistresses should be accorded great attention.

The society should be made to understand that meeting the needs of schools should not be left solely for the government. Good spirited individuals who are financially endowed also have a role to play. They should emulate their peers in other climes who set up foundations devoted solely to promoting good education.

The fact that these children are the ones to take over every strata of our society in the future calls for our getting actively involved in their educational welfare.

Lady Bird Johnson- a former U.S. first lady once asserted, "Children are likely to live up to what you believe of them." One of the ways we can believe so much of our children is by providing them with the needed infrastructure required for effective and efficient learning. Let's get about it!
Ugochukwu writes from Nsukka, reach him through ug.ugovester@gmail.com

by Ugochukwu Ugwuanyi
May I use your service? Thank you. If you are close to an Ibo at the moment, engage him or her in a conversation using the Igbo language and see for yourself that the dialogue won't last two minutes before he chips in an English word or totally veers into the English language. You may even meet an Ibo who while you are using the Igbo language, he or she is responding in English. What a shame!

You will be highly mistaken to think the person you are conversing with is trying to carry you along, that's if you are not an Ibo, by his veering into the English Language repeatedly. That is definitely not the case, rather, the case is that the Ibos are increasingly losing their ability to perform in Igbo. How sad!

At a scenerio where an Igbo man is addressing his kith, you may mistake him for a Briton owing to his lavish use of English in talking to his own people. At a family meeting, everyone who can afford it, generously trade the English Language that you will be right to ask if you were in an Igbo gathering.

Perhaps, we may excuse this as a public show, where everyone want to prove to the next that "my English is better than yours," but how about the situation in the home? Here, it is the English language half the way with the amount of English spoken, more than the Igbo. There are other homes where it is English Language all the way with no member of such family giving a hoot about the Igbo language. Please tell me how their secret can be safeguarded from a stranger?

Language is the essence of culture as it conveys a culture. When a language is relegated to the back, the culture follows duly. The Ibos have a fantastic and smashing history and culture that only a fool will take for granted. As far back as the 9th Century, Igbo Ukwu was already famous for its bronzes that were used to fashion items like iron swords, bronze and copper ornament and vases. In the 30th Century BC, the Neolithic man was already said to be in existence in Igboland.

It is indeed true that the Ibos were in the frontline of people who started festivals. In 1043, the kingdom of Nri has already devised a festival they called EzeNriIfikuanim. It is on record that the Portuguese explorers made contact with the Igbos in 1434, long before the Atlantic slave trade exports that took millions of Igbo people, including other Africans to America. The Ibos alongside Hausas and Yorubas are believed to be the earliest settlers in today's Nigeria

This shows that we have come a long way and that we came this way in style with our language bearing us. Apparently, one of the things we have to show for this rich history is our cultural heritage personified in our language. However, it goes without stating that there are reasons why Ibos are increasingly finding it difficult to effectively use their language.

The chief reason is the contact the Ibos had with the Europeans. This brought about a new culture that affected the Igbo traditional beliefs, family structure and functions, religion and language. These triggered a gradual replacement of the old order with the new order in all facets and has now built up to the stage we're in.

The adventurous nature of the Ibos also accounts for the decline in the usage of Igbo by the Ibos. The Ibos are known to be increasingly mobile and adaptable. Even before the outbreak of the Civil War, they had settled in all parts of the country. Today Ibos are found in the different countries in Africa and around the globe. As industrialists and traders scattered all over, they easily blend with their immediate environment absorbing the language, dressing mode and tradition that are prevalent.

This is compounded by the fact that these Ibos in diaspora seldom return to their homesteads or visit home with their families for the fear of being victims of witchcraft, spells and other evils that are common in the native. Thus they stay back in their base, adapt to its culture and language while the Igbo language suffers. Now, do you still doubt the prediction that the Igbo language will go extinct in 2025?

It will be recalled that a prediction was given by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation(UNESCO) Advisory Committee on Language, Pluralism and Multi-language Education that Igbo Language, and by implication culture, may be headed for extinction as it will be subsumed by other stronger Nigerian languages by 2025. That is about 12 years from now!

This, they believe will come through if nothing was done by its speakers to ensure that it is not only taught in schools, colleges and universities, but, also used as language of official communication within government and business circles in the five Igbo-speaking states.

I suppose, it is in this light that the newly formed executive members of Ohanaeze Ndigbo (Enugu State chapter) called for the enactment of a law making Igbo Language compulsory in all primary and secondary schools in the state. They further advocated for a law compelling every civil servant in the state to put on native wears on Fridays so as to showcase and sustain the Igbo culture.

The Ohanaeze Exco members who made these demands during a courtesy call on the Speaker of Enugu State House of Assembly, urged the House to enact a law mandating members of the House to use the Igbo Language in conducting the business of the House at least four times in a month. Thank gracious, they used the phrase 'at least' for I don't think four time a month will do. Will the heavens fall if they used the Igbo Language for all their deliberations? Even the UNESCO's Advisory Committee called for Igbo to be used as the official language of communication within government's circles.

Still on efforts by interest groups to see to the preservation of the Igbo Language, the South-East Millenium Development Goals(MDGs) Summit had, after its two-day meeting in Owerri last Thursday, passed a resolution that the Igbo Language should be the mode of communication in all gatherings of Ndigbo. This resolution forms part of the eight-point communique they issued, which read in parts, "The Summit agrees that in every gathering of Ndigbo, especially in Igboland, the lingua franca should be Igbo Language"

I don't think they should have said "especially in Igboland," instead it should read, especially in foreign land. Since Igbos are very mobile and have a penchant for living abroad, they thoroughly need the language to remind them of where they are coming from and to aid their identifying one another.

I know not of any country that has a law prohibiting the use of another language different from theirs in their country. Thus, the Ibos who are scattered overseas are those to be encouraged to hold tight to the language. Another reason for this is because Igbo Language will face a keen rivalry with the language spoken at any place where an Ibo is living. Such a language should not triumph over Igbo in the Ibo man's tongue and brain else he becomes alien to the Igbo language.

It is to this end that it will be strongly advised that all those interested in averting the Igbo Language from seeing extinction should work to have cable channels dedicated to the Igbo language come on board in DSTV and other ubiquitous satellite stations. They should also work to make the language heard in the BBC, Voice of America and the likes. This will greatly help Ibos abroad to keep abreast with the Igbo language.

Also, Nollywood actors, directors, scriptwriters, producers- most of whom are Igbos- should bring back those days when Igbo movies were always on the shelves. They should use Igbo in acting their flicks as this will again help in making the 2025 prediction not to come to pass.

In the final analysis, the Ibos themselves must begin to appreciate and use their language the more. 'Afamefuna' is a common name among the Ibos. It means my identity should not be lost! Igbo Language is our identity. It is our name. We should therefore make sure it is not found missing.
Ugochukwu writes from Otukpo. You can follow me on twitter via @ugsylvester

I am a prospective 2013A, I wish someone to give me an idea as to how to know the state am posted. Thanks.