How To Enter Sapele And Warri From Benin Now

 By Tony Afejuku

Sapele and Warri are two significantly important Nigerian cities that need no introduction, special or un-special, from the historic, realistic and imaginative imagination of this creative creator whose impression of things is often – if not always – determined by features which fit the descriptions that convey meaningfully what must be conveyed – meaningfully.

Sapele and Warri, as very many people know, are two unique cities, two uniquely nifty cities, from whichever dominant or un-dominant impressions or perspectives open to us to define the cities. Of course, the cities’ dense and denizenly denizens and brought-ups where-ever they are always have something, something beautifully beautiful, to say about them in the same way that those of Benin, the antique city, allow their imaginations and conceptions to beautify it.

When Will The Benue, Southern Kaduna Killings End?

 By Charles Okoh

It appears that there will be no end in sight to the killings in Kaduna as well as Benue states. The lackadaisical approach of the Federal Government to halting the carnage in both states remains worrisome. If it is argued that the sheer spread of violence and wanton killings across the country have become too much of a burden for the government to handle, will it be out of place to demand from the Federal Government what its plan is towards ending the senseless killings especially in these states?

No fewer than 29 people have been killed in a fresh attack by bandits on Runji Village in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area of Kaduna State.

The attack which occurred at about 10 p.m. penultimate Saturday night came barely three days after bandits killed eight people at the Atak’Njei community also in Zangon Kataf Local Government Area.

Nigeria: Must We Have This Census Now?

 By Adekunle Adekoya

It is no longer news that the Federal Government has activated plans to conduct a national population and housing census next month. The last time we had a census was March 2006. There is nothing bad in having a census; indeed, a lot of benefits will accrue if we really know how many of us are together in this country.

Historically, the first census was conducted in 1866 and this was followed by Censuses of 1871, 1881, 1891 and 1901. However, all these earlier censuses were restricted to Lagos Colony and its environs. The 1871 census marked the beginning of decennial census in Nigeria in line with British tradition of census-taking every 10 years.

Nigeria: The Challenge Of ‘Judiocracy’

 By Sunny Ikhioya

As the 2023 elections continue to unravel, many of the  participants are already rushing to the courts. So, we will be witnessing what I will like to describe as judiocracy, which means government of the judiciary or the courts. It is different from judiocracy, which is linked to President Putin’s Russia because of his love and practice of the judo sport. Unfortunately, in this kind of democracy, it is not the people’s will that ultimately prevails; some will be elected on simple matters such as judicial technicalities. 

That is the challenge we face as a nation, stepping into another realm of civil rule. If democracy is useful to a people, to the extent that it has been made to accommodate ordinary citizens, and this is lacking in an election process, such a process must be properly looked into and, if necessary, a thorough review and overhaul carried out. Situations where our elections are unable to give us a generally accepted leadership, should be something for all to ponder upon. Unfortunately, the alternative to flawed elections is recourse to the law court.

On The Agreement Between Gbajabiamila And ASUU

 By Femi Falana 

It is public knowledge that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila intervened in the last strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.  Several meetings were held with the relevant stakeholders by the leadership of the House. While briefing the Nigerian people of the resolution of the crisis on October 10, 2022, the Speaker did categorically state as follows:

*House Speaker, Gbajabiamila meets with ASUU executives 

“We agreed with ASUU and the government on certain things which we took to Mr. President. I have visited the President twice. First time we made our recommendations with the government shifting some and ASUU shifting some. We spoke with Mr. President. There was one sticking issue which was the issue of no work no pay. And the President did ask that he would suggest the recommendations and would have one more meeting which we did on Friday after the budget. 

‘‘That meeting was even better than the first one we had with him, and Mr. President had agreed to settle things. I am not going to talk about that now and that he would disclose whatever it is tomorrow, Tuesday which is tomorrow.” (https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/10/deal-sealed-asuu-strike-over-in-matter-of-days-gbajabiamila/) .

Another Look At Poverty In Nigeria

 By Adekunle Adekoya

When we talk of poverty, we think of it as the inability of a person, group of persons, or a social collective to meet basic needs like food, clothing, and shelter. The Encyclopaedia Brittanica describes poverty as “the state of one who lacks a usual or socially acceptable amount of money or material possessions. Poverty is said to exist when people lack the means to satisfy their basic needs.”

Provision of basic needs — food, clothing, and shelter — has been the preoccupation of man ever since he began to form social collectives. Getting these things in sufficient quantities is a pillar of security in many societies where leaders are sensible, feel for, and empathise with the people they lead. In fact, it is the primary purpose of organised governance. In today’s Nigeria, it is obvious that basic needs are going out of the reach of the ordinary Nigerian with the passing of each day.

ASUU Wins!

 By Tony Afejuku

By the time you read this, our public universities that our federal government’s intransigence caused to be closed for well over seven months may have been opened or are about to be opened.

Those who have seen the well above seven months of battle or of war between the FGN and ASUU as super serious contestation and deadly game of brawn and brain akin to those that can only be found in a play or a novel of tragic proportions might be happy to get to the end of the play or novel at last without pause.

The Way Out Of Naira’s Deepening Woes

 By Faith Omoniyi

In recent times, Naira has been defined by its continuous downward spiral. The Naira has plummeted from $1/N198 to $1/N430 in the parallel market during the last six years. This increase equates to a 209% depreciation. The depreciation is due to a reduction in global oil prices, a lack of foreign currency income, and higher inflation in the country. The downward trend of the Naira is set to continue if proper economic measures are not in place. Increasing  Nigeria’s export potential and reducing the inflation rate are viable options for getting Naira back on track.

Overbearing weight on Oil
Low export potential is one of the causes of the Naira’s depreciation. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), in 2021, Nigeria’s imports exceeded exports by N1.94trn. Nigeria’s foreign exchange earnings are derived primarily from the export of petroleum. However, Nigeria still spends $14.95 billion on the import of petroleum products annually. Nigeria needs to build refineries to shelve this figure or collaborate with private companies like Dangote and BUA that are building refineries. 

Between The Spirit Of Slavery And ASUU

 By Ezekiel Ayoola 

It is well-known history in the continent of Africa that there was an evil practice called the slave trade. This involved the moving of African slaves to other countries. It has been estimated that about 500 million Africans were taken away as slaves. And our forefathers did it.

Sometimes purely out of envy and as they were capturing and torturing these slaves, taking them away, the slaves were issuing curses on those who did it. The curses were on the heads of the whites buying them and those Africans selling them together with their children’s children.

*ASUU and FG at the negotiating table 

Slaves were not allowed to wear clothes, they were humiliated, with stocks on their necks joined to each other. The sick ones were thrown into the sea and when they got to the plantations they padlocked their mouths. This evil befell fellow human beings only because somebody has sold them in exchange for a necklace, alcohol or a mirror.

Banditry, Kidnapping As Lucrative Business In Nigeria

 By Agunloye Bashiru

The failure and nonchalant attitude of the Federal Government of Nigeria on the incidents of kidnapping for ransom has made Nigerian families to resort to self-help to free their loved ones from the dens of kidnappers and bandits. 

*Kidnappers and their victims 

From 2021 to date, over 500 incidents of kidnappings were said to have been recorded with close to 4,000 Nigerians and some foreign citizens abducted across Nigeria, while some unreported cases were unknown due to the nature of Nigeria when it comes to proper data documentation.

While all these incidents of kidnappings and abductions were happening across the country, the Nigerian government left the victims in the hands of these unrepentant and inhuman gangs. 

From July 2021 to August 2022, over one billion Naira was reported to have been paid by Nigerians to freed victims of kidnappings and abductions. In July 2021, the sum of N250 million was paid by Nigeria Baptist Convention as ransom to the bandits that kidnapped 140 students from the Bethel Baptist College, Damishi, Kaduna State. In July 2022 alone, eight Nigerian abducted persons parted with N800 million while a kidnapped Pakistani national paid the sum of N200 million as ransom to kidnappers. 

Sponsors Of Terrorism Should Be Tried Now

 By Femi Falana

Sometime in August 2019, a gang of 10 soldiers led by an Army Captain ambushed and killed the  three police officers who had arrested an alleged kidnap suspect, Bala Hamisu (a.k.a.Wadume) in Jalingo, Taraba State. 

The cold murder of the police officers was designed to cover up the involvement of the soldiers in the several killings and illegal collection of hundreds of millions of Naira as ransom by the kidnappers who had terrorised the people of Taraba State for about three years.

*Falana

The suspected killer soldiers were charged with terrorism in the Federal High Court by the Nigeria Police Force. But in  a complete abuse of his powers under section 174 of the Constitution,  the Attorney- General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malami SAN filed a nolle prosequi and withdrew the charges pending against the soldiers at the Federal High Court. 

They have since been shielded from prosecution without any legal or moral justification. Our demand for the arrest and prosecution of the suspects has been ignored by the Federal Government.

Inspector General Of Police, Federal Govt And The South East

 By Kingsley Moghalu 

I am as disturbed by the general narrative against the Fulani, because of the failure of the Federal Government of Nigeria to secure our country from invading foreign terrorists – a failure that many Fulani & others in Northern Nigeria find as unconscionable as other Nigerians in the South – as I am with the Inspector-General of Police’s reported order to police to essentially violate human rights and engage in extra judicial killings in the Southeast under the guise of  “Operation Restore Peace” in the region against Biafra secessionist agitators.

*Buhari 

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) says President Buhari has ordered a “shoot at sight” against anyone carrying an AK-47 rifle illegally, ostensibly as a justification for his spurious orders regarding the Southeast. I’d like to know how many terrorist “herdsmen” in Nigeria have been “shot at sight” so far since the President’s reported order. A lack of commitment to a Nigeria based on the equality of every Nigerian and every part of Nigeria is the reason why there are very obvious double standards in security operations in Nigeria. This leads us to simplistic narratives that demonize ethnic groups at large, and to compare apples with oranges.

Niger Delta: The Big Issue

By Chris O.O. Biose

The basic issue in the Niger Delta is that since the promulgation of Petroleum Decree No. 51, 1969, the Off Shore Oil Revenue Decree (No. 9), 1971 and other obnoxious military decrees by which military dictators dispossessed the Niger Delta of the benefits of its oil and gas resources, successive Federal administrations have been extracting the oil and gas in the Niger Delta and using the proceeds to develop other Regions in the country to the exclusion of the Niger Delta.

The activities of the oil companies were reflected in permanent gas flares, massive coastal marine pollution and unprecedented levels of environmental degradation without parallel anywhere in the world. They promoted intra and inter-community strife by means of selective favours. Regrettably, some youth resorted to militancy although the vast majority remained law-abiding. All these engendered tendency towards breakdown in traditional values and confusion among the oppressed people of the Niger Delta.

$322m Abacha Loot: Separating Politics From Economics

By Emmanuel Obe

A lot of Nigerians have expressed their anger (and rightly so) over the planned disbursement of the $322 million recovered from the loot of the late Gen. Sani Abacha to 302,000 poor households in Nigeria.

*Abacha 

As the argument of those opposed to the planned disbursement goes, it appears unreasonable to just take out money and share out to people that did not work for it.

For them it makes no economic sense when that money, amounting to about N115 billion, could be invested in tangible projects that will generate revenue for government, employment for the youth and goods for the household. Some of the opponents of the policy have even gone ahead to recommend psychiatric tests for the government officials that proposed the disbursement on the grounds that it looked rather insane to share out money in that fashion.

Nigeria: A Lazy President Calling Youths Lazy

By Frank Ijege
I meet and interact with youths on a daily basis and I can tell you that they are not lazy; majority of them have gone to school and there are no jobs to engage them. Many others want to go to school, but cannot because public education has been placed at a level that no child of the poor should aspire for.

*President Buhari 

Joseph is a graduate of Sociology, with a second class upper division. This is what we here, call good result. After national service, ‎no job was forth coming. He opted to go back to school for his master degree, which he obtained with a distinction. This was two years ago. No job. No nothing!

President Buhari: Stop Blaming Jonathan And Learn To Accept Responsibility

By Reno Omokri 

It is rather unfortunate that instead of sticking to the facts in its tiff with Ohanaeze Ndigbo, the Federal Government decided to drag former President Jonathan into a matter he knows nothing about by stating that "We inherited a country in tatters- its economy, its security and its social relations. President Buhari deserves credit for rebuilding what has been destroyed."

*Buhari

Thankfully, no less a personality than the President's own confidante, Professor Itse Sagay, has revealed that the APC is an 'evil' party, built on propaganda. This recent statement by Garba Shehu only serves to corroborate that statement.

For one, President Muhammadu Buhari DID NOT inherit a country in tatters. Rather, on May 29th, 2015, the day he was sworn in, President Buhari inherited a nation that was the largest economy in Africa and the 24th largest economy in the world.

Nigeria: On FG’s Planned Demand For Transparency From Discos

By Idowu Oyebanjo

The Federal Government has announced plans to escrow and beam its searchlight into the revenue accounts of the operations of the DisCos due to poor monthly remittances. Although DisCos have condemned the move, this is a good step in the right direction. To address the problems of NESI, a holistic view of every aspect of the multi-faceted problems plaguing it is required with a view to solving them in a coordinated manner. 

One of the major problems in the Nigerian Electricity Supply Industry (NESI) today is the potential for illiquidity. In simple terms, this arises when DisCos declare, whether truthfully or otherwise, that they have not collected enough money from consumers of electricity and so are unable to make full payments to the bulk electricity trader, NBET, for electricity received.

This has the potential to always create illiquidity in NESI because their remittances should have been used to pay all key stake holders in the industry including but not limited to GenCos, TCN, Gas providers, market operator, NERC, NBET etc. The solutions to address this anomaly include a massive investment in customer metering, reduction in network losses, preventing electricity theft and collusion of staff of electricity companies with consumers to defraud the industry, discontinuation of estimated billing, and ensuring that revenues collected by DisCos in behalf of NESI is transparent to all key stakeholders, and not least the Federal Government which still owns 40% of DisCos. The government has chosen to implement the last of the afore-mentioned solutions but the DisCos have frowned at the move. Thus a critical review of the position of DisCos is in order.

The Trauma Of Being Kidnapped

By Hope Eghagha

One of the most traumatic experiences anybody can undergo is to be violently abducted. Snatched from one’s regular, known serene world into a world governed by drug-controlled youths is a life-altering experience. I have been there. I know how it feels to be dispossessed of one’s liberty by criminals. I know how relations feel in the uncertain days of the abduction. I know how the kids feel that their father may never return. I know the emotions that run through a wife.

I also know how it feels to see one’s security aide killed with a single shot to the neck, blood gushing out in angry ferocity, how his widow and two kids look up to you for help. I know how it feels to be in captivity for 16 days without food, without one’s routine medication. I know how it is to be blindfolded for 16 days. It is not fun. It is not a party. It is deathly traumatic. It is deeply humiliating, bewildering and depressing. It is frightening.

A typical kidnapper is a violent person. There is verbal violence. There is of course physical violence. At no provocation, the victim could be slapped, kicked or given a blow to the head. The intention is to instill fear. So, fear is a constant when in the custody of kidnappers. They brandish their weapons – guns, knives, machetes. They use the gun-butt both on the victim and on the floor; at least my captors did. I was harangued, insulted, beaten for no other reason than I said that I didn’t have one hundred million naira to redeem myself. That though I was a government official at the time, I knew the government would pay no ransom. 

In the den, the victim loses a sense of time. Blinded-folded, day and night merge into one long experience. The weakness of the body at a particular time may suggest it is late in the night. Same with the eerie quiet of the environment, or the hooting of the night bird. Morning is heralded by birds chirping. Late noon is dictated by the languor of the late afternoon early evening sun. Time freezes, yet it moves. You try to hope, dare to hope really, that you would ultimately get out alive. The kidnappers say ‘if you leave,” not ‘when you leave. Death is a permanent presence. It hangs in the air. Even when not spoken, it is known as the ‘X’ factor. The uncertainty of it all is killing. Their occasional acts of kindness, like leading you blindfolded to use the urinary do not help. Or by the time you return from the urinary your bed has been re-arranged. They remind the victim that the situation is abnormal. Yet the victim shows gratefulness. A sinking man would clutch at a straw!

Arthur Nwankwo Disowns Pro-Biafra Group