BY EDDY AGHANENU
Recent events in Rivers State gives cause for concern and apprehension. It reminds one of the old Western Region in the first republic. As it was in the first republic, the police are active participants and not neutral observers. This is dangerous and it portends evil for the country. We forget so soon and refuse to learn from history.
As it was in the first republic, the ruling party at the centre in order to control the Western Region decided to induce crisis using the Action Group’s deputy leader against the leader of the party. In the process, Action Group became polarized. The ruling party at the centre, Northern People’s Congress (NPC) decided to use its federal might to rig elections in the region. This blatant disregard for the electoral wishes of the people led to the crisis in the West, which gave birth to the first military coup and inevitably, the civil war. This also led to the long military interregnum that destroyed the democratic culture that was already developing.
The same scenario is playing itself out again in Rivers State. Rivers State is gradually becoming the wild wild West of Nigerian politics. Governor Rotimi Amaechi due to his principled stance on due process and democratic best practices has been at log ahead with the centre. Formerly of the same ruling party as the centre, the governor was forced out of the party. Many factors are responsibility for the political crises we are currently witnessing in the state. The president is from the neighbouring state of Bayelsa while his wife comes from Rivers State. The centre will want to ensure that the state votes massively for the ruling party come 2015. This may not be guaranteed if Amaechi is not checked as the governor is not prepared to compromise on his democratic principles. While the governor is thinking of national interest and unity, others are thinking of selfish gains.
The best way then of limiting the governor’s growing influence in the state is for the centre to prop up another individual as the NPC did in the Western Region. With encouragement from vested interests, this new entrant is prepared to let the state burn in as long as he achieves his aim of becoming the governor come 2015.
Democratic principles were jettisoned in favour of anarchy. First, the governor who won re election as the Chairman of the Governors Forum was not recognized by the centre. Rather, someone else who lost in the democratic election that produced Gov Amaechi as Chairman was recognized. A man who got sixteen votes as against Gov Amaechi’s nineteen was recognized by the centre as the Chairman of the Governor’s Forum. Minority wins the vote!
Another absurd move to weaken and probably impeach the governor was hatched. Five members out of thirty two members of the state House of Assembly in connivance with the police went ahead to illegally impeach the Speaker of the House and other leaders of the House. The police looked on while this rape on our nascent democracy was going on. The centre applauded this move of might is right. Five became the majority while twenty seven became the minority. Today, Nigeria has become a laughing stock in the comity of democratic nations.
The state is gradually being made ungovernable. The attempts to cause confusion and crises in the state are increasing by the day. Events organized by the civil society groups to sensitize the people on the need for peace in the state are being disrupted by the police. The Save Rivers Group has taken it upon itself to preach peace in the state and to advocate for democratic tenets to reign supreme, yet their commendable actions are not allowed to see the light of day by the police. The law enforcement agency has on two occasions disrupted the peaceful gathering of the people of the state who are yearning for peace. There have been allegations of the police shooting to disrupt the gathered crowd. Let the self centred politicians know that it is only the living that they can govern. If they are prepared to massacre the people in order for them to assume power, posterity will never forgive them. The people of Rivers State should not be used as canon fodders for someone’s selfish ambition.
Let us recall that prior to the coming of Gov Amaechi to Government House, Rivers State was in crises. Cult groups were openly at war with each other. Kidnapping was rampant. Niger Delta Militant Groups were also agitating. Rivers State was then Nigeria’s Mogadishu. Companies were relocating to neighbouring countries. Unemployment was high. Insecurity became the order of the day. Porthacourt was no longer the garden city it used to be. No investor was prepared to risk his finance and the lives of workers by investing in the state. This was the sad situation that Gov Rotimi Amaechi met when he assumed office as governor.
The governor was not undaunted. He confronted the problems headlong. He was bold and courageous at what some faint hearted people would have assumed as insurmountable problems. Seven years on, cult groups have been chased out of the state. Kidnappings have been dumped where they belong - history books. Investors are coming back. Commercial activity is on the rise. Night life is back. Niger Delta militants are now respectable members of society.
This is the peace that some selfish politicians want destroyed. If this is allowed to happen, not only Rivers State but the nation will feel the effect of this. When the Western Region crises began, no one guessed that it will engulf the nation. After sacrificing over three million lives in a bloody civil war, Nigeria should not be allowed to tow the same line again. No country goes through two civil wars and survives it. Those who are desperate to assume power should think of the consequences of their actions. Persuasion wins votes and not violence. Our politicians should learn how to persuade the people with the laudable programmes they have rather than using the “do or die” politics of rigging. This way, our democracy will begin to grow and development will be our gain.
I advise the centre to let Gov Amaechi be. Our problems can be resolved through the democratic process and not the use of force. The people of Rivers State are in need of basic things of life. They are not in need of who has more weapons of coercion. Nigeria should learn from the unforgettable experiences of the first republic. Thunder, they say, does not strike in one place twice. Nigeria needs peace and democratic leaders. This is the only way that the needed development can come.
Wednesday, May 28, 2014
UNBOWED EVEN IN PERSECUTION
BY EDDY AGHANENU
Life is war. It is a struggle. It is a struggle for survival. Millions go to bed every night hungry. Others have no access to portable drinking water. Millions of children are not in school. Many more are homeless. Yet few are getting richer and those in positions of trust are busy misappropriating the collective wealth. Injustice rules the land. The rule of law is jettisoned. Their rights are tramped upon. The people are left helpless to be used, cheated and dumped. Even in a democratic system, the people’s wishes are neither respected nor even sought. They become pawns in the political chess game of their oppressors.
In such settings, when a leader arises and sets to liberate the people from their political and economic bondage, such a leader is viewed with disdain and mistrust. Such a leader faces persecution and deprivation. The political and economic oppressors ensure that such a liberator is denied his political gains and access to power. The liberator is brazenly cheated and maneuvered out of victories won in an election. The mistake always made by the oppressors is to think that they can break the will and resolve of a freedom fighter by denying him his rights, blocking his source of livelihood and ensuring that justice is denied him.
A committed activist sacrifices self for the good of the people. His personal comfort becomes immaterial. Achieving justice, human rights, economic and political liberation becomes his sole desire. Self is no longer important. What becomes paramount is the people – his people. That is why Isaac Boro could sacrifices himself for his people. To Ken Saro Wiwa, his people were more important than himself. That is the same reason Nelson Mandela could go to jail for his people to be free. It is the same reason that Governor Rotimi Amaechi is fighting to ensure that the people of Rivers State enjoy the dividends of democracy and have access to their God given wealth.
The present seeming misunderstanding between the president and Gov Amaechi is not about personal issues. President Jonathan is Gov Rotimi Amaechi’s “brother” by virtue of both being from Niger Delta and from the old Rivers State. It is about issues and a system that unjustifiably denies the people access to their wealth. It is about injustice on a people and nay Niger Delta. It is about the rule of law. When the rule of law is thrown overboard by the powers that be, chaos and oppression takes over. Gov Rotimi Amaechi is fighter and hates injustice.
In 2007, the powers that be then knew that if Right Hon Amaechi wins the election, he was going to bring development to his people and liberate his state from the economic manipulation that goes on at the centre. The best way to stop him from achieving these noble goals was to deny him the victory which he rightly won at the primaries. He was underestimated. A fighter never quits until justice is done. He obtained justice and through that epic judgment by the Supreme Court our legal system is the better for it. Like Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Gov Amaechi believes that our legal system, though not perfect, can still right the wrongs of the mighty.
Rivers State is the better for it through that judgment. I have never been an admirer of the ruling party but I have been a silent watcher of the revolution going on in Rivers State. The transformation going on in Rivers State is something to behold and to recommend to other states. In education, the state is without equal. When I first saw the primary school at Rumuola, opposite the College of Arts and Science, I thought it was a private school. The buildings and the aesthetic nature will entice parents to send their children to school. I brushed it off as a flash in the pan and was a public stunt. I was forced to eat my words when I saw others at Rumuokoro Round About, before Agip Junction, Town, Mbiama, Ahoada, Buguma, Omoku, Eleme and other communities in Rivers State. I do not think that any state has invested in school infrastructure as Rivers State. Aside the infrastructure, all the schools are well equipped including the provision of ICT materials. Years to come, Rivers State will be home to the highest number of graduates in this country.
As the governor is busy investing in human capital, he is equally doing same in the health sector. Most of the clinics built by the Gov Amaechi administration could pass off for cottage hospitals. The clinic at Rumuodomaya, close to the controversial Obia/Akpor LG is a master piece. Same applies to the one on refinery road, Eleme. I learnt same has been built in various local governments and communities. They are all well staffed and equipped.
He did leave road development behind. The flyovers at Eliozu, Mile Three and other areas of Portharcourt is a testimony to the fact that the Governor has been doing marvelously well in this sector. On my way to Omoku, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the roads to all the communities in this axis have been tarred.
In the midst of this gigantic stride in Rivers State, individuals for pecuniary reasons are trying to derail the work of the amiable governor and cause confusion. Today, ministers who are expected to positively affect the lives of Nigerians through their work in their ministries are busy deploying thugs in Rivers State to cause confusion. The injustice is so glaring today that one can say that in an election involving Amaechi, the minority wins the vote. In Nigeria, sixteen is greater than nineteen while twenty seven is less than five. It is only in Nigeria that an unelected person can publicly chastise and issue orders to a governor how to govern his state. There is a deliberate attempt to make the state ungovernable.
The beauty of this struggle for emancipation and for the rule of law to reign supreme is that the governor refuses to be browbeaten. All the state machinery marshaled against him has not made him to lose focus. He is still committed to the oath he took. Making Rivers State the best and most peaceful remains his priority.
His leaving PDP is a big loss to the ruling party and gain to APC. Not only gain to APC but to humanity. He has been fighting for justice, peace and development for his people. By leaving PDP, he is saying enough of injustice. Enough of oppression! Enough of the stealing of the people’s commonwealth!
Life is war. It is a struggle. It is a struggle for survival. Millions go to bed every night hungry. Others have no access to portable drinking water. Millions of children are not in school. Many more are homeless. Yet few are getting richer and those in positions of trust are busy misappropriating the collective wealth. Injustice rules the land. The rule of law is jettisoned. Their rights are tramped upon. The people are left helpless to be used, cheated and dumped. Even in a democratic system, the people’s wishes are neither respected nor even sought. They become pawns in the political chess game of their oppressors.
In such settings, when a leader arises and sets to liberate the people from their political and economic bondage, such a leader is viewed with disdain and mistrust. Such a leader faces persecution and deprivation. The political and economic oppressors ensure that such a liberator is denied his political gains and access to power. The liberator is brazenly cheated and maneuvered out of victories won in an election. The mistake always made by the oppressors is to think that they can break the will and resolve of a freedom fighter by denying him his rights, blocking his source of livelihood and ensuring that justice is denied him.
A committed activist sacrifices self for the good of the people. His personal comfort becomes immaterial. Achieving justice, human rights, economic and political liberation becomes his sole desire. Self is no longer important. What becomes paramount is the people – his people. That is why Isaac Boro could sacrifices himself for his people. To Ken Saro Wiwa, his people were more important than himself. That is the same reason Nelson Mandela could go to jail for his people to be free. It is the same reason that Governor Rotimi Amaechi is fighting to ensure that the people of Rivers State enjoy the dividends of democracy and have access to their God given wealth.
The present seeming misunderstanding between the president and Gov Amaechi is not about personal issues. President Jonathan is Gov Rotimi Amaechi’s “brother” by virtue of both being from Niger Delta and from the old Rivers State. It is about issues and a system that unjustifiably denies the people access to their wealth. It is about injustice on a people and nay Niger Delta. It is about the rule of law. When the rule of law is thrown overboard by the powers that be, chaos and oppression takes over. Gov Rotimi Amaechi is fighter and hates injustice.
In 2007, the powers that be then knew that if Right Hon Amaechi wins the election, he was going to bring development to his people and liberate his state from the economic manipulation that goes on at the centre. The best way to stop him from achieving these noble goals was to deny him the victory which he rightly won at the primaries. He was underestimated. A fighter never quits until justice is done. He obtained justice and through that epic judgment by the Supreme Court our legal system is the better for it. Like Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, Gov Amaechi believes that our legal system, though not perfect, can still right the wrongs of the mighty.
Rivers State is the better for it through that judgment. I have never been an admirer of the ruling party but I have been a silent watcher of the revolution going on in Rivers State. The transformation going on in Rivers State is something to behold and to recommend to other states. In education, the state is without equal. When I first saw the primary school at Rumuola, opposite the College of Arts and Science, I thought it was a private school. The buildings and the aesthetic nature will entice parents to send their children to school. I brushed it off as a flash in the pan and was a public stunt. I was forced to eat my words when I saw others at Rumuokoro Round About, before Agip Junction, Town, Mbiama, Ahoada, Buguma, Omoku, Eleme and other communities in Rivers State. I do not think that any state has invested in school infrastructure as Rivers State. Aside the infrastructure, all the schools are well equipped including the provision of ICT materials. Years to come, Rivers State will be home to the highest number of graduates in this country.
As the governor is busy investing in human capital, he is equally doing same in the health sector. Most of the clinics built by the Gov Amaechi administration could pass off for cottage hospitals. The clinic at Rumuodomaya, close to the controversial Obia/Akpor LG is a master piece. Same applies to the one on refinery road, Eleme. I learnt same has been built in various local governments and communities. They are all well staffed and equipped.
He did leave road development behind. The flyovers at Eliozu, Mile Three and other areas of Portharcourt is a testimony to the fact that the Governor has been doing marvelously well in this sector. On my way to Omoku, I was pleasantly surprised to see that the roads to all the communities in this axis have been tarred.
In the midst of this gigantic stride in Rivers State, individuals for pecuniary reasons are trying to derail the work of the amiable governor and cause confusion. Today, ministers who are expected to positively affect the lives of Nigerians through their work in their ministries are busy deploying thugs in Rivers State to cause confusion. The injustice is so glaring today that one can say that in an election involving Amaechi, the minority wins the vote. In Nigeria, sixteen is greater than nineteen while twenty seven is less than five. It is only in Nigeria that an unelected person can publicly chastise and issue orders to a governor how to govern his state. There is a deliberate attempt to make the state ungovernable.
The beauty of this struggle for emancipation and for the rule of law to reign supreme is that the governor refuses to be browbeaten. All the state machinery marshaled against him has not made him to lose focus. He is still committed to the oath he took. Making Rivers State the best and most peaceful remains his priority.
His leaving PDP is a big loss to the ruling party and gain to APC. Not only gain to APC but to humanity. He has been fighting for justice, peace and development for his people. By leaving PDP, he is saying enough of injustice. Enough of oppression! Enough of the stealing of the people’s commonwealth!
THE MONSTROUS CENTRE
BY
EDDY AGHANENU
Nigeria operates a federal system of government or so we are made to believe. What has been masquerading as a federal system is no more different from the unitary system of government practiced by the military. It is not surprising therefore to note that the same system is still being practiced in this civilian era since the operational constitution with a little cosmetic amendment by the national assembly was written by the military. Today, an emperor sits at the centre and all other provisional prefects must bow to his will or else….
Generals Babangida and Abacha bestrode the nation like conquering warlords. Their words were laws. Their transition programmes vividly depict the authoritarian nature of these leaders. IBB decreed two parties into existence. General Abacha became the sole candidate of the five political parties – what Bola Ige calls the “five fingers from a leprous hand.” With the power these leaders had, Nigeria became their personal property to do as they wished.
Chief Obasanjo was not different from former military leaders. He sacked communities at will. Governors who never agreed with him were chased by EFCC. He ensured that Alamiesagha was removed from office. He also ensured that he destroyed his ruling party in order to control it. Those he never liked their faces, he made sure never won election. Ask Atiku! He made sure that Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi who won the party’s primary was not allowed to contest the election. If not for his doggedness, fighting spirit and belief in the judiciary, Gov Rotimi Amaechi would not have smelt the Government House, Portharcourt. Chief Obasanjo equally and illegally withheld local government allocation accruing to local governments in Lagos State.
The control of power, excess fund at the disposal of the centre are some of the things that lure politicians to aspire to be at the centre. The federating units with more burdens are at the mercies of the emperor at the centre. The lopsided revenue accruing to the centre at the expense of the states make the centre so lucrative that those who are there and are bereft of ideas with negative performance indices are prepared to come back to power at all costs including rigging elections. Unelected spouses of the emperor are wont to publicly scold provincial prefects. Unelected officials at the centre are of the habit of looking down on the elected leaders at the federating units. They use the instruments of coercion at the disposal of the centre to harass elected officials in the states. An elected governor was abducted by an unelected official with the tacit support of the powers that be at the centre. State properties were wantonly destroyed by the said official without even a protest from the centre. In another scenario, the centre became the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge in a local government issue which is within the purview of the State government. The federal government barricaded the said local government with its agents of coercion and prevented business from going on in the said local government secretariat.
This is not a federal system of government but unitary. What business has the Federal government with primary and secondary education? Why should the centre have more than half of the revenue when the states that generate the revenue and have more to do are given less? Why should the federal government through its agency be involved in driver’s license issue? Why should the federal government receive all the revenue generated from mineral resources mining and allocate peanuts to the states where such mineral resources are found? Why can’t there be state police? Why must there be a uniform salary structure when revenue accruing to each state is not the same?
These excesses in power and revenue at the centre are the main attractions why the urge and desire to be at the centre has become a “do or die” affair. It is also the reason why mind boggling figures are declared missing or misappropriated on a daily basis. It is this excessive power and funds at the disposal of the centre that makes it interfere in states like marauding gangs. Any wonder why a minister of works will stop a state government from maintaining or constructing roads when the centre cannot maintain such roads. Those with access to centre easily run to the centre to use the bearing influence of the centre to achieve their selfish means.
This overbearing influence of the centre is playing itself out in Rivers State. It started with an unelected lady publicly rebuking an elected governor. Then the local government issue which the centre blew out of proportion and bared its diabolical fangs in all attempts to cow the vocal and democratic governor. There was also the attempted imposition of a minority over the majority in the State House of Assembly. The latest is the issue of the Chief Judge in the state. The centre through its agency is trying to frustrate the state government from appointing the state’s Chief Judge. The state governor has gone through the due process of appointing a Chief Judge, yet the centre won’t allow it. In a truly federal system, this will not happen.
Some will argue though that the ongoing National Conference will be able to resolve these anomalies in the national setup. Unfortunately, this national conference is nothing but a talk shop. It is a charade. It will resolve nothing. The establishment of the conference has no backing in law. Like Chief Obasanjo’s conference, the report of this conference will only end up in the waste bin. The conference has been a political gimmick to remain entrenched at the centre. While the charade lasts, corruption will be on the increase. Impunity on the part of the centre will never wane. The fear of the centre will continue to be the beginning of wisdom for some state chief executives.
There is no democracy yet. We only have civilian rule. A situation where the centre dabbles into the affairs of states and acts like the big brother watching over the states - as it does in Rivers State - will never promote democracy. If there is no true federal system in the country, democracy will continue to be a mirage. As long as there is no true federal system of government and democracy, so long shall we continue to reap underdevelopment, corruption and impunity.
EDDY AGHANENU
Nigeria operates a federal system of government or so we are made to believe. What has been masquerading as a federal system is no more different from the unitary system of government practiced by the military. It is not surprising therefore to note that the same system is still being practiced in this civilian era since the operational constitution with a little cosmetic amendment by the national assembly was written by the military. Today, an emperor sits at the centre and all other provisional prefects must bow to his will or else….
Generals Babangida and Abacha bestrode the nation like conquering warlords. Their words were laws. Their transition programmes vividly depict the authoritarian nature of these leaders. IBB decreed two parties into existence. General Abacha became the sole candidate of the five political parties – what Bola Ige calls the “five fingers from a leprous hand.” With the power these leaders had, Nigeria became their personal property to do as they wished.
Chief Obasanjo was not different from former military leaders. He sacked communities at will. Governors who never agreed with him were chased by EFCC. He ensured that Alamiesagha was removed from office. He also ensured that he destroyed his ruling party in order to control it. Those he never liked their faces, he made sure never won election. Ask Atiku! He made sure that Rt Hon Rotimi Amaechi who won the party’s primary was not allowed to contest the election. If not for his doggedness, fighting spirit and belief in the judiciary, Gov Rotimi Amaechi would not have smelt the Government House, Portharcourt. Chief Obasanjo equally and illegally withheld local government allocation accruing to local governments in Lagos State.
The control of power, excess fund at the disposal of the centre are some of the things that lure politicians to aspire to be at the centre. The federating units with more burdens are at the mercies of the emperor at the centre. The lopsided revenue accruing to the centre at the expense of the states make the centre so lucrative that those who are there and are bereft of ideas with negative performance indices are prepared to come back to power at all costs including rigging elections. Unelected spouses of the emperor are wont to publicly scold provincial prefects. Unelected officials at the centre are of the habit of looking down on the elected leaders at the federating units. They use the instruments of coercion at the disposal of the centre to harass elected officials in the states. An elected governor was abducted by an unelected official with the tacit support of the powers that be at the centre. State properties were wantonly destroyed by the said official without even a protest from the centre. In another scenario, the centre became the accuser, the prosecutor and the judge in a local government issue which is within the purview of the State government. The federal government barricaded the said local government with its agents of coercion and prevented business from going on in the said local government secretariat.
This is not a federal system of government but unitary. What business has the Federal government with primary and secondary education? Why should the centre have more than half of the revenue when the states that generate the revenue and have more to do are given less? Why should the federal government through its agency be involved in driver’s license issue? Why should the federal government receive all the revenue generated from mineral resources mining and allocate peanuts to the states where such mineral resources are found? Why can’t there be state police? Why must there be a uniform salary structure when revenue accruing to each state is not the same?
These excesses in power and revenue at the centre are the main attractions why the urge and desire to be at the centre has become a “do or die” affair. It is also the reason why mind boggling figures are declared missing or misappropriated on a daily basis. It is this excessive power and funds at the disposal of the centre that makes it interfere in states like marauding gangs. Any wonder why a minister of works will stop a state government from maintaining or constructing roads when the centre cannot maintain such roads. Those with access to centre easily run to the centre to use the bearing influence of the centre to achieve their selfish means.
This overbearing influence of the centre is playing itself out in Rivers State. It started with an unelected lady publicly rebuking an elected governor. Then the local government issue which the centre blew out of proportion and bared its diabolical fangs in all attempts to cow the vocal and democratic governor. There was also the attempted imposition of a minority over the majority in the State House of Assembly. The latest is the issue of the Chief Judge in the state. The centre through its agency is trying to frustrate the state government from appointing the state’s Chief Judge. The state governor has gone through the due process of appointing a Chief Judge, yet the centre won’t allow it. In a truly federal system, this will not happen.
Some will argue though that the ongoing National Conference will be able to resolve these anomalies in the national setup. Unfortunately, this national conference is nothing but a talk shop. It is a charade. It will resolve nothing. The establishment of the conference has no backing in law. Like Chief Obasanjo’s conference, the report of this conference will only end up in the waste bin. The conference has been a political gimmick to remain entrenched at the centre. While the charade lasts, corruption will be on the increase. Impunity on the part of the centre will never wane. The fear of the centre will continue to be the beginning of wisdom for some state chief executives.
There is no democracy yet. We only have civilian rule. A situation where the centre dabbles into the affairs of states and acts like the big brother watching over the states - as it does in Rivers State - will never promote democracy. If there is no true federal system in the country, democracy will continue to be a mirage. As long as there is no true federal system of government and democracy, so long shall we continue to reap underdevelopment, corruption and impunity.
Friday, February 28, 2014
LEADERSHIP CURSE?
BY EDDY AGHANENU
By August this year, Delta State would be twenty three years old as a state, having been created on 27th August, 1991. Fifteen of those years have been under People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led government. By August, the PDP led government in the state will roll out the drums to celebrate the creation of the state. What will they be celebrating? A harvest of woes and unfulfilled dreams! A cursed leadership bereft of ideas and missed opportunities of making the state a centre of excellence in terms of human and infrastructural development.
Passing through the sister state of Edo one begins to wonder if Delta State is cursed. The infrastructural development that has taken place in Edo State in the last six years is unparalleled in the history of the region. Today, Delta State lags behind Edo State. Yet, the annual budget of Edo State is about one quarter of Delta State’s annual budget. For fifteen years, the PDP government in state has nothing to show for all the revenues that has been accruing to the state.
The jostling for 2015 has begun. PDP in the state are out again to deceive the people. These were the same people that the ruling party has been deceiving for over fifteen years. Unfulfilled promises are what the people have been reaping. In the words of Dr Otive Igbuzor: “over the years, especially since the return to civil rule in 1999, there has been progressive degeneration in governance and development in Delta State. Violence, brigandage, and mafia style behavior have been introduced into body politic. Merit, professionalism and decency for which Delta State was known in the past have been completely jettisoned….There is degeneration of values. The values of respect, hard work, integrity and self pride are being completely eroded.”
Abandoned projects litter the landscape. Unemployment in Delta State is one of the highest in the country. The ability of government to think and plan ahead is nonexistent. For instance, the proposed introduction of BRT lane along Effurun Warri Road will not work rather, it will create more hardship on the people. A BRT lane in a two lane road will limit other road users to a single lane thereby creating serious hardship on the people. The road needs expansion.
The cosmetic structural changes going on in selected schools along major high ways is not enough. It should go round all the schools in the state. Schools are poorly equipped. Computer learning is still a mirage in majority of the schools in the state. Laboratories are not equipped and nonexistent in others.
Other vital areas in the state are not immune from these deliberate neglect and abandonment. Yet the PDP which is synonymous with failure and wastage are preparing to vie in 2015 so as to continue sending the people and the state to perpetual poverty and underdevelopment. The work done since 1999 cannot be equated with the massive fund the state has generated over the same period.
Enough is enough! Delta State cannot continue this way. The same people who have plundered the state should not be allowed to continue with the plundering. Enough of the plundering! It is time for development. The People’s Democratic Party cannot offer this needed development. It is clear that Delta State cannot continue to be governed the way it has been done since 1999.
What is needed is a new and alternative platform. A platform of Delta State patriots - people of integrity and not those who have misapplied and misallocated public resources entrusted to them. Deltans need a platform made up people committed to the development of Delta State and not people who have plundered the resources. They need a platform of knowledgeable people who know what needs to be done to rescue the state and not incompetent and corrupt people. Deltans want a platform of morally upright people and not people who are morally bankrupt. They need a platform of the right caliber of people and programme to make Delta great. In particular, Deltans need a platform with a programme that will prioritise education and human capital development and the delivery of health services; a programme that will build the infrastructure that will sustain present and future generation; a people driven security agenda; industrialization that will be beneficial to the people and promotion of our culture, arts and tourism potentials. Above all, Deltans need a platform that cuts across age, sex, ethnic group that seeks to redefine in the state and return Delta State to the path of merit, excellence, integrity, development, transparency and accountability.
The ruling party in the state has not been able to provide the above platform to the people in the last fifteen years. If they could not do it then, they cannot do it now. Oppressed, deprived, marginalized and cheated Deltans, let us unite to democratically chase these leeches out that have been sucking us dry. Let us not waver. Let us take our destiny in our hands. Rescuing of Delta State is a task that must be done.
By August this year, Delta State would be twenty three years old as a state, having been created on 27th August, 1991. Fifteen of those years have been under People’s Democratic Party (PDP) led government. By August, the PDP led government in the state will roll out the drums to celebrate the creation of the state. What will they be celebrating? A harvest of woes and unfulfilled dreams! A cursed leadership bereft of ideas and missed opportunities of making the state a centre of excellence in terms of human and infrastructural development.
Passing through the sister state of Edo one begins to wonder if Delta State is cursed. The infrastructural development that has taken place in Edo State in the last six years is unparalleled in the history of the region. Today, Delta State lags behind Edo State. Yet, the annual budget of Edo State is about one quarter of Delta State’s annual budget. For fifteen years, the PDP government in state has nothing to show for all the revenues that has been accruing to the state.
The jostling for 2015 has begun. PDP in the state are out again to deceive the people. These were the same people that the ruling party has been deceiving for over fifteen years. Unfulfilled promises are what the people have been reaping. In the words of Dr Otive Igbuzor: “over the years, especially since the return to civil rule in 1999, there has been progressive degeneration in governance and development in Delta State. Violence, brigandage, and mafia style behavior have been introduced into body politic. Merit, professionalism and decency for which Delta State was known in the past have been completely jettisoned….There is degeneration of values. The values of respect, hard work, integrity and self pride are being completely eroded.”
Abandoned projects litter the landscape. Unemployment in Delta State is one of the highest in the country. The ability of government to think and plan ahead is nonexistent. For instance, the proposed introduction of BRT lane along Effurun Warri Road will not work rather, it will create more hardship on the people. A BRT lane in a two lane road will limit other road users to a single lane thereby creating serious hardship on the people. The road needs expansion.
The cosmetic structural changes going on in selected schools along major high ways is not enough. It should go round all the schools in the state. Schools are poorly equipped. Computer learning is still a mirage in majority of the schools in the state. Laboratories are not equipped and nonexistent in others.
Other vital areas in the state are not immune from these deliberate neglect and abandonment. Yet the PDP which is synonymous with failure and wastage are preparing to vie in 2015 so as to continue sending the people and the state to perpetual poverty and underdevelopment. The work done since 1999 cannot be equated with the massive fund the state has generated over the same period.
Enough is enough! Delta State cannot continue this way. The same people who have plundered the state should not be allowed to continue with the plundering. Enough of the plundering! It is time for development. The People’s Democratic Party cannot offer this needed development. It is clear that Delta State cannot continue to be governed the way it has been done since 1999.
What is needed is a new and alternative platform. A platform of Delta State patriots - people of integrity and not those who have misapplied and misallocated public resources entrusted to them. Deltans need a platform made up people committed to the development of Delta State and not people who have plundered the resources. They need a platform of knowledgeable people who know what needs to be done to rescue the state and not incompetent and corrupt people. Deltans want a platform of morally upright people and not people who are morally bankrupt. They need a platform of the right caliber of people and programme to make Delta great. In particular, Deltans need a platform with a programme that will prioritise education and human capital development and the delivery of health services; a programme that will build the infrastructure that will sustain present and future generation; a people driven security agenda; industrialization that will be beneficial to the people and promotion of our culture, arts and tourism potentials. Above all, Deltans need a platform that cuts across age, sex, ethnic group that seeks to redefine in the state and return Delta State to the path of merit, excellence, integrity, development, transparency and accountability.
The ruling party in the state has not been able to provide the above platform to the people in the last fifteen years. If they could not do it then, they cannot do it now. Oppressed, deprived, marginalized and cheated Deltans, let us unite to democratically chase these leeches out that have been sucking us dry. Let us not waver. Let us take our destiny in our hands. Rescuing of Delta State is a task that must be done.
Friday, May 24, 2013
THE SEA EATS OUR LAND
BY EDDY AGHANENU
Each time one travels to the rural areas of our dear Delta State, one is besieged by very ugly and pathetic sights. The trip is no longer fun. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and anger. Anger at the deliberate neglect of the rural areas and the rural folks! Pity at these people who have so much to offer but now abandoned by their leaders! No one cares for the people. They are only useful during elections. They are figuratively raped by their own leaders and their dignity systematically taken away. No wonder, crime rate is on the rise in the state.
From Urhoboland to Anioma to Itsekiriland, Ijawland and Isokoland, the scenario is the same. One begins to wonder what the future holds for the state. According to a recent study by Delta Development Initiative (DDI), the state is projected to be eighty five million people by 2100. What foundation is the state laying now to cater for this population increase when we cannot take care of a little over four million people?
The first sight that greets one is the number of teenage parents. It is no longer the issue of teenage mothers but that of teenage fathers also. Girls of less than sixteen are already mothers to two or three children and in most cases; the children are of different fathers. Some of these fathers are still in junior secondary school or early stages of senior secondary school. Both parents are still children who are still very dependent on their own parents.
The children suffer from malnutrition, barely clothed most of the time and have little or no access to medical care. The parents are helpless in bringing up these kids. Most of them are already old in their young age. They look haggard, unkempt and in need of parenthood themselves. The worst hit is the teenage mother who is left all alone to cater for the kids. Kids are strapped to their backs, others trailing behind as she goes about trying to eke out a living. They are found in building sites seeking for their daily bread. When no means is available, their body becomes the easiest alternative. When they can no longer cope, the teenage mother abandons her children to her burdened mother and flees to the already congested urban areas to swell the prostitution population.
Meanwhile, the young father without any trade, education or skill joins others of his ilk to while away the time by drinking cheap alcoholic drinks and indulge in illicit drugs. Since there is no means of livelihood, he gradually resorts to crime, cultism and becomes a valuable asset in election rigging.
Women are not left out. They carry most of the household burden. They have no access to government or cheap loans to aid their petty business or farming. The only alternative is the shylock lenders or cooperative groups where the interest rate is very high. The little sales from farm products and petty business are used to pay and service the loans. They have barely enough left to take care of other needs. They are perpetually in debt. Government empowerment scheme are only heard in the news. The women are in a pitiable state as they look lean, old and haggard from too much to carry in life.
The above are the things you observe in rural communities in Delta State and even urban areas. One is left wandering how it has come to such a bad state. We no longer care about human development. Public schools in rural areas are just there in name. Teachers resume at their own time and teach whenever they want. The inspectorate section of the Ministry Of Education has gone to sleep. When the monitors are no longer monitoring, the environment becomes chaotic. That is the situation of public schools in the rural areas. The youth they say are the leaders of tomorrow. I am yet to see how these youths who have become elders in their youths will become leaders of tomorrow. How these youths who have no access to quality education or skills can become leaders of tomorrow is yet to be seen.
Some political leaders are even fuelling this state of affairs. They have an army of unemployed youths to recruit from. These youths engage in election rigging and even assassination. Women are hired to attend political rallies. The political leaders will not want the status quo to change. They are the chief beneficiaries.
Government is not addressing these issues. No amount of structural development (if any) without commensurate human development will be meaningful to the people. Government has to make deliberate and concerted effort to arrest this drift. The Ministry of Women Affairs has to educate the youths on the dangers of teenage parenthood. The ministry should also look for ways of engaging young mothers. They could be sent back to school or let them acquire skills that make them useful to themselves and the society.
The Ministry of Information has to do more in enlightening the youths on the dangers of election rigging and other forms of crime. The use of dangerous drugs should be preached against.
Skill acquisition centres should be created in every local government area and be made free. Local governments too can build skill acquisition centres. I know that there is the Songhai Centre in Amukpe. This is not enough for the state. Worse still, it has gone the way of other government’s projects in the state – a white elephant.
Delta State can be the food basket of South South. They can engage, train the youths, equip them and provide fund for them to engage in agriculture. Extension workers must be available to guide the youths in agriculture. They should be encouraged to engage in quarterly crops such as vegetables, tomatoes and maize so that they will not lack funds. When this is done, the youths will embrace agriculture wholeheartedly. The way it is now, agriculture is meant for those who have no hope of making it elsewhere. The mindset has to change. This is where orientation comes in.
Women in the rural and even urban areas should be assisted with funds so that they can engage in meaningful ventures. Government should ensure that such funds really get to the people. Such funds should not be hijacked by the political class. There are many instances where funds meant for the people are hijacked on the way by the ruling class. It never gets to the people.
Government has to engage in a total war to redeem the youths from self destruction. If they are abandoned as they are, Delta State will be like Somalia where crime is the order of the day. Let us bring life to the rural communities. For now, they are the dredge of society. Each time, I travel to any rural community in Delta State, I become apprehensive. Apprehensive not because of insecurity but because of degeneration of morals. The sea has encroached our rural communities and has eaten our land. If nothing is done now, we will pay the price in future in the form of insecurity. It is already happening. Let us not allow this stigma of Delta State being a crime prone area to continue. It has to be stopped. The time to stop it is now. Let the government for once be sincere. It should no longer be government of television and billboard. Let the zeal used in erecting billboards and placing of adverts in the electronic and print media be used in working for the people.
Each time one travels to the rural areas of our dear Delta State, one is besieged by very ugly and pathetic sights. The trip is no longer fun. It leaves a bitter taste in the mouth and anger. Anger at the deliberate neglect of the rural areas and the rural folks! Pity at these people who have so much to offer but now abandoned by their leaders! No one cares for the people. They are only useful during elections. They are figuratively raped by their own leaders and their dignity systematically taken away. No wonder, crime rate is on the rise in the state.
From Urhoboland to Anioma to Itsekiriland, Ijawland and Isokoland, the scenario is the same. One begins to wonder what the future holds for the state. According to a recent study by Delta Development Initiative (DDI), the state is projected to be eighty five million people by 2100. What foundation is the state laying now to cater for this population increase when we cannot take care of a little over four million people?
The first sight that greets one is the number of teenage parents. It is no longer the issue of teenage mothers but that of teenage fathers also. Girls of less than sixteen are already mothers to two or three children and in most cases; the children are of different fathers. Some of these fathers are still in junior secondary school or early stages of senior secondary school. Both parents are still children who are still very dependent on their own parents.
The children suffer from malnutrition, barely clothed most of the time and have little or no access to medical care. The parents are helpless in bringing up these kids. Most of them are already old in their young age. They look haggard, unkempt and in need of parenthood themselves. The worst hit is the teenage mother who is left all alone to cater for the kids. Kids are strapped to their backs, others trailing behind as she goes about trying to eke out a living. They are found in building sites seeking for their daily bread. When no means is available, their body becomes the easiest alternative. When they can no longer cope, the teenage mother abandons her children to her burdened mother and flees to the already congested urban areas to swell the prostitution population.
Meanwhile, the young father without any trade, education or skill joins others of his ilk to while away the time by drinking cheap alcoholic drinks and indulge in illicit drugs. Since there is no means of livelihood, he gradually resorts to crime, cultism and becomes a valuable asset in election rigging.
Women are not left out. They carry most of the household burden. They have no access to government or cheap loans to aid their petty business or farming. The only alternative is the shylock lenders or cooperative groups where the interest rate is very high. The little sales from farm products and petty business are used to pay and service the loans. They have barely enough left to take care of other needs. They are perpetually in debt. Government empowerment scheme are only heard in the news. The women are in a pitiable state as they look lean, old and haggard from too much to carry in life.
The above are the things you observe in rural communities in Delta State and even urban areas. One is left wandering how it has come to such a bad state. We no longer care about human development. Public schools in rural areas are just there in name. Teachers resume at their own time and teach whenever they want. The inspectorate section of the Ministry Of Education has gone to sleep. When the monitors are no longer monitoring, the environment becomes chaotic. That is the situation of public schools in the rural areas. The youth they say are the leaders of tomorrow. I am yet to see how these youths who have become elders in their youths will become leaders of tomorrow. How these youths who have no access to quality education or skills can become leaders of tomorrow is yet to be seen.
Some political leaders are even fuelling this state of affairs. They have an army of unemployed youths to recruit from. These youths engage in election rigging and even assassination. Women are hired to attend political rallies. The political leaders will not want the status quo to change. They are the chief beneficiaries.
Government is not addressing these issues. No amount of structural development (if any) without commensurate human development will be meaningful to the people. Government has to make deliberate and concerted effort to arrest this drift. The Ministry of Women Affairs has to educate the youths on the dangers of teenage parenthood. The ministry should also look for ways of engaging young mothers. They could be sent back to school or let them acquire skills that make them useful to themselves and the society.
The Ministry of Information has to do more in enlightening the youths on the dangers of election rigging and other forms of crime. The use of dangerous drugs should be preached against.
Skill acquisition centres should be created in every local government area and be made free. Local governments too can build skill acquisition centres. I know that there is the Songhai Centre in Amukpe. This is not enough for the state. Worse still, it has gone the way of other government’s projects in the state – a white elephant.
Delta State can be the food basket of South South. They can engage, train the youths, equip them and provide fund for them to engage in agriculture. Extension workers must be available to guide the youths in agriculture. They should be encouraged to engage in quarterly crops such as vegetables, tomatoes and maize so that they will not lack funds. When this is done, the youths will embrace agriculture wholeheartedly. The way it is now, agriculture is meant for those who have no hope of making it elsewhere. The mindset has to change. This is where orientation comes in.
Women in the rural and even urban areas should be assisted with funds so that they can engage in meaningful ventures. Government should ensure that such funds really get to the people. Such funds should not be hijacked by the political class. There are many instances where funds meant for the people are hijacked on the way by the ruling class. It never gets to the people.
Government has to engage in a total war to redeem the youths from self destruction. If they are abandoned as they are, Delta State will be like Somalia where crime is the order of the day. Let us bring life to the rural communities. For now, they are the dredge of society. Each time, I travel to any rural community in Delta State, I become apprehensive. Apprehensive not because of insecurity but because of degeneration of morals. The sea has encroached our rural communities and has eaten our land. If nothing is done now, we will pay the price in future in the form of insecurity. It is already happening. Let us not allow this stigma of Delta State being a crime prone area to continue. It has to be stopped. The time to stop it is now. Let the government for once be sincere. It should no longer be government of television and billboard. Let the zeal used in erecting billboards and placing of adverts in the electronic and print media be used in working for the people.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
TO W. S
This piece is written in honour of The Leadership four held by the Nigerian State. Freedom of the press is under siege. We are back to Decree 4 era.
TO W. S
Wole Soyinka
The son of
Ogun
The man that
spits fire like Shango
The palm
wine lover
The
wordsmith
The man who
dances in the evil forests
And comes
out victorious
The jewel of
the forest of books
The lion who
never keeps mute in the face of tyranny
I salute
you.
Wole Soyinka
The man who
has crossed the seven seas to dare the tyrant
The man that
held the gong captive
That we may
be free.
The man died
Cos we are
in silence of fears
We will
never die
We have been
pushed to wall
React, we
must.
How long
shall we be held hostage and in bondage
In our
freedom of fear?
How long
shall the land be raped
By our
liberators in agbada?
How long
shall the thief be boastful
Of having
stolen our crops?
How long
shall our children
Continue to
be servants to thieves?
How long
shall our land live in darkness?
Occasioned
by nocturnal men in power?
How long
shall evil triumph over good
In our land.
Despair we
will not
For W. S has
shown how
To confront
the monster.
We will
survive
We will re
claim
We will
possess
Our lost
land
We will
clear the land of thieves
Our numbers
shall speak for us
Our numbers
shall stop the usurper of our votes.
Our voices
must die
Our resolve
must not be shaken
Freedom we
desire
Prosperity
for our land we seek
Justice is
all we ask for.
These we
will get
Cos the
abiku of maladministration
Must come to
an end.
Our cries
have woken those gone before us
They are
restless and angry
At a
brother’s inhumanity to his brother
And have
vowed
That come
2015 and beyond
Restoration
of our land must take place.
Wole Soyinka
The trail
blazer
Today, we
honour you
For showing
the way
Unbowed by
the power of evil.
In your life
time
Victory is
sure.
By
Eddy
Aghanenu
Friday, January 4, 2013
VICE PRESIDENT’S RESIDENCE – MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING
Eddy Aghanenu
I read with bemusement Ogaga Ifovwodo’s piece on the Vice President’s official residence. I do not understand his quarrel with the cost of the nation’s Number Two’s official residence. That the residence of the vice president is to cost a mere sixteen billion naira is a surprise to me. When I first heard of the cost, I thought they were referring to the official residence of a deputy governor of a state. What is so special about this amount that has made Ogaga Ifowodo have sleepless nights? Has Ifovwodo forgotten that this is Nigeria and not a tiny country like Gambia or Seychelles or even Eritrea?
This is Nigeria! The most populous black nation in the world! The giant of Africa! The most blessed country in the continent! Rich in oil and other mineral resources! Rich in human resources! Has Ifovwodo forgotten that Nigeria was paying the salaries of some South American nations in the early seventies? This is a country where ordinary citizens like me have purchased private jets worth over a trillion naira in the last five years. Is Nigeria such a poor country that the Vice President’s official residence should be like those found in Ajegunle or Suleja? Money has never been our problem as Ifowodo rightly quoted Gowon. The problem has always been how to spend it. Now that we are wisely spending our money, enemies of this government are quarrelling with it.
The Vice President’s residence must befit the status. Let us equally remember that it is not the personal property of Sambo. Ifovwodo may reside there in future as the nation’s vice president. The place must have a worship centre. There must be a mosque, church and traditional place of worship for people like the Kongi and others of his ilk. The place of worship is meant as place where the Vice President will go and ask for forgiveness if he mistakenly misplaces a few billion naira. He can equally go there to ask for miracle for a better Nigeria even though he has planned for a better Nigeria.
A state of the art hospital is also ear marked for the Vice President’s residence. It will be manned by specialist doctors from Saudi Arabia and Germany. This is to prevent another Yar’dua and Chime’scenario where Nigerians will be wondering where their leaders are receiving treatment. In this case, special assistants in the Vice President’s Office can be signing documents on his behalf and claiming it is signed by the Vice President if (God forbid) he falls sick.
The Vice President’s official residence is also have a banquet hall that will accommodate about a thousand people. The place will be used for official and non official functions. Once in a while, Dbanj, Tu Face and others could be invited to entertain the nation’s big wigs with undergraduate females being invited to learn the art of governance. The Vice President will no longer run to Kaduna and in fear too when giving out his daughters for marriage. The banquet hall serves that purpose. There must be enough rooms too in the official residence where the Vice President’s relatives and friends can lodge thereby saving money that would have been used for hotel accommodation.
The security of the Vice President is equally important. While monitoring devices will be installed both within and without the premises, a missile shield will also be installed. Nobody knows what these Boko Haram people may come up with. Prevention, they say, is better than cure. Armoured cars will be permanently stationed there. What will happen if kidnappers kidnap our Vice President? That is why the residence must be well secured.
As prophetically suggested by Senator Smart Adeyemi, the furniture for the Vice President’s residence will be made in heaven. The famed Benin furniture makers will not be good enough. The kitchen materials will cost over a billion naira. Every other material that will be used to furnish the residence will be imported. There will equally be a landing pad for helicopters to land and take off (not the type of helicopters used by the Nigerian Navy). Because of the good nature of our roads and for security purposes, the Vice President will no longer be using our roads. The Vice President will be flying from and to office so that we do not have another Murtala Muhammed in our hands.
President Jonathan, you will agree with me has be very frugal in spending. He is spending lessthan a billion naira next year for feeding. He now eats only cassava bread found only in Aso Rock supermarket. Abakiliki rice is now his favourite. In next year’s budget, some amount have been ear marked for generator repairs because there will be constant power by 2013. I learnt that an order has been given that no diesel should be bought to power generators next year. The new banquet hall in Aso Rock is a mere two billion naira. He is buying just one additional to add to the presidential fleet. This project is not expensive.
With some other features that will be provided in the official residence of the vice president, I see no reason with Ifovwodo’s anger. To me, the amount is inadequate. The agency required to vet all contracts have seen the need for contract variation. Ogaga Ifovwodo talked about building schools and hospitals. How can the Vice President brainstorm and think properly on how to make Nigeria better if he sleeps in a “matchbox house”? This was the type of residence
Jakande was staying in Ilupeju while he was governor of Lagos state. The same with Bafarawa while governor of Sokoto State. The era where our leaders stay in their inadequate personal residences to administer the people is over. The said amount is not even half of what some fuel importers were paid as fuel subsidy. Delta State spent N7.4billion to demolish anthills in Asaba Airport in ten days. That is the way money must be spent. Not frugal like some war torn countries. Nigeria is rich. We must show that we are rich. The Vice President’s residence is an example of showing that we are rich. After all, you cannot live by the bank of a river and wash your hand with spittle.
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