By
Eddy Aghanenu
Like a whirlwind, they came. Like the dangerous tsunamis, they flooded the land. Like the hurricane, they swept off the landscape. Like earthquakes, they left destruction in their paths. It was called mainstream politics.
Theirs was not to appeal. It was not to plead with the people. It was not to solicit for support or understanding. It was not to allow the rule of law take its course. Neither were there programmes for the people. The people were irrelevant. With or without the people, the apostles of mainstream politics were sure of acquiring power.
It was a conquering army on the move. It was a “do or die” affair. Theirs was to subdue, enslave, subjugate loot and enshrine a reign of terror in the land. They were antithetical to development. They de-flowered the innocence of the people. They left behind tears, sorrow and blood. The people became the victims.
In Ogun, Oyo, Ondo, Osun, Oyo, Ekiti, Edo and Delta States, The Emperors reigned supreme. Like John Keats’ Ozymandias, they became tin gods. They were worshipped and their words became law. Nothing was too big to be sacrificed so that they can perpetually remain in power. People and resources were therefore sacrificed. The people were cowed but not forever.
They bestrode the land like colossus, trampling on the people and their resources. Because, they were bereft of ideas, looting and brute force became the order of governance.
They were already planning on how to continue their plunder in 2011 but not reckoning with the power of the people and rule of law.
Like the son of Ogun (the one that spits fire like Sango) once said: “the man died in all men who keep mute in the face of tyranny”. Thankfully, the man has not died in the life of the people. Led by the generalissimo, the Asiwaju, with such able lieutenants as the comrade orator of Edo, the Marxist in Ekiti State, the Iroko of Ondo, the technocrat in Lagos, the political engineer of Oshun State and the millions of foot soldiers, it was a matter of time before the emperors and their empires crumbled. The people confronted the devil. With the law and God on their side, victory was certain. Light will always triumph over darkness.
We expected an epic fight, a battle royal. It turned out to be an anticlimax. The wind has blown and we have seen the strength of their majesties. In fact, strength they have not. We thought they were giants not knowing they were mere paper tigers. It was a David and Goliath fight. A fling of stone and they were blown away. The wind of change has swept some of them off. There is liberation fever in the land. Delta State is next on the line. This wind of change will continue to 2011. Those emperors still remaining learn from the story of Ozymandias. If they do not know it, I crave the indulgence of the publisher to reproduce it below:
I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Friday, November 26, 2010
FORENSIC FORCE: Unspoken and unemployed
By Salisu Suleiman
According to some reports, close to 80, 000 people stormed the National Stadium for the event. They were not there to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic, or the All Africa Games. They were not there to watch the Super Eagles play a visiting team. They were not there for any Evangelical Crusade, and neither did Muslims decide to observe the Eid prayers at the stadium. They were there to write examinations to be shortlisted for employment by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
The 80,000 candidates were just at the Lagos centre alone. All over Nigeria’s major cities, similar scenes played out that day. In all, over half a million candidates applied for the few thousand job openings at the NDLEA. (The agency itself reportedly netted N750 million from the N1, 500 fees charged each applicant).
Scenes like these are by no means unusual. Reports also indicate that millions of people applied for a few thousand job openings at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; the Federal Road Safety Corps; Nigeria Immigration Service and others.
Nobody has the exact numbers of unemployed people in Nigeria. Last year, government accepted World Bank estimates that nearly 30 percent of Nigeria’s workforce is unemployed. Other observers believe the figures are higher. A recent study warns that Nigeria would have to create 24 million jobs in the next 10 years just to halve unemployment. Whatever the actual figures may be, unemployment is a major challenge confronting Nigeria.
While these scary statistics stare at us, government recently announced that the Niger Delta Coastal Road project would be constructed at the sum of N 1 trillion. Typically, there was no indication of the number of jobs the project would create. Yet, properly planned and executed, a project of this magnitude can create millions of direct and indirect jobs of all kinds in addition to more obvious benefits.
This single example is symptomatic of government approach to the challenge of job creation. Projects and programmes are embarked upon without indicating the specific number of jobs the project would create. How many jobs have been created in the real sector as a by-product of huge government spending? What strategies have been put in place to help mitigate the effects of unemployment in Nigeria? Do the unemployed have hope? Do we even have a current database of unemployed Nigerians?
Government must view unemployment in Nigeria from a national security perspective. Nigerians are generally hardworking and creative. If you follow a street hawker darting in and out of heavy traffic for a whole day in the hot sun, (often burdened with goods they are hawking), you will understand. But when people who are able and willing to work so hard just to get by find themselves unable to earn a living, then we are asking for trouble.
While not justifying the spate of armed robberies and kidnappings of recent, they are no doubt linked to unemployment. When university graduates, retired (and even serving) members of the security forces are forced into a life of crime, the level of sophistication and complexity is often beyond the capacity of the police and civil defense corps to handle.
So what is to be done?
There must be a census of unemployed people in Nigeria. From the exercise, a constantly updated base of unemployed Nigerians should be developed to introduce a basic ‘unemployment’ allowance. If all our ‘dishonourable honourables’ at the National Assembly can emerge as billionaires after each four-year term, then the treasury can find funds for this payment, which stops as soon as a person gets a job.
Responsibility for this payment should be shared among the federal, state and local governments. Compared to the billions spent every year on security (and much more looted), it is not asking for too much for government to give a token sum to every unemployed Nigerian. That way, a lot of petty theft and crime would be reduced and millions of lives would be touched. There would also be a positive impact on the economy, as most of the money would go directly to purchase goods and services.
The public sector cannot employ everyone in the country even if it had the resources. The private sector must be enabled to create employment and stimulate economic growth. Policies (and spending) at all levels must aim to stimulate the real sector, especially small and medium scale enterprises. Agriculture and industry are critical.
The warning lights are on: politics may dominate national discourse today, but the effects of unmitigated unemployment will destroy the polity.
According to some reports, close to 80, 000 people stormed the National Stadium for the event. They were not there to watch the opening ceremony of the Olympic, or the All Africa Games. They were not there to watch the Super Eagles play a visiting team. They were not there for any Evangelical Crusade, and neither did Muslims decide to observe the Eid prayers at the stadium. They were there to write examinations to be shortlisted for employment by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA.
The 80,000 candidates were just at the Lagos centre alone. All over Nigeria’s major cities, similar scenes played out that day. In all, over half a million candidates applied for the few thousand job openings at the NDLEA. (The agency itself reportedly netted N750 million from the N1, 500 fees charged each applicant).
Scenes like these are by no means unusual. Reports also indicate that millions of people applied for a few thousand job openings at the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC; the Federal Road Safety Corps; Nigeria Immigration Service and others.
Nobody has the exact numbers of unemployed people in Nigeria. Last year, government accepted World Bank estimates that nearly 30 percent of Nigeria’s workforce is unemployed. Other observers believe the figures are higher. A recent study warns that Nigeria would have to create 24 million jobs in the next 10 years just to halve unemployment. Whatever the actual figures may be, unemployment is a major challenge confronting Nigeria.
While these scary statistics stare at us, government recently announced that the Niger Delta Coastal Road project would be constructed at the sum of N 1 trillion. Typically, there was no indication of the number of jobs the project would create. Yet, properly planned and executed, a project of this magnitude can create millions of direct and indirect jobs of all kinds in addition to more obvious benefits.
This single example is symptomatic of government approach to the challenge of job creation. Projects and programmes are embarked upon without indicating the specific number of jobs the project would create. How many jobs have been created in the real sector as a by-product of huge government spending? What strategies have been put in place to help mitigate the effects of unemployment in Nigeria? Do the unemployed have hope? Do we even have a current database of unemployed Nigerians?
Government must view unemployment in Nigeria from a national security perspective. Nigerians are generally hardworking and creative. If you follow a street hawker darting in and out of heavy traffic for a whole day in the hot sun, (often burdened with goods they are hawking), you will understand. But when people who are able and willing to work so hard just to get by find themselves unable to earn a living, then we are asking for trouble.
While not justifying the spate of armed robberies and kidnappings of recent, they are no doubt linked to unemployment. When university graduates, retired (and even serving) members of the security forces are forced into a life of crime, the level of sophistication and complexity is often beyond the capacity of the police and civil defense corps to handle.
So what is to be done?
There must be a census of unemployed people in Nigeria. From the exercise, a constantly updated base of unemployed Nigerians should be developed to introduce a basic ‘unemployment’ allowance. If all our ‘dishonourable honourables’ at the National Assembly can emerge as billionaires after each four-year term, then the treasury can find funds for this payment, which stops as soon as a person gets a job.
Responsibility for this payment should be shared among the federal, state and local governments. Compared to the billions spent every year on security (and much more looted), it is not asking for too much for government to give a token sum to every unemployed Nigerian. That way, a lot of petty theft and crime would be reduced and millions of lives would be touched. There would also be a positive impact on the economy, as most of the money would go directly to purchase goods and services.
The public sector cannot employ everyone in the country even if it had the resources. The private sector must be enabled to create employment and stimulate economic growth. Policies (and spending) at all levels must aim to stimulate the real sector, especially small and medium scale enterprises. Agriculture and industry are critical.
The warning lights are on: politics may dominate national discourse today, but the effects of unmitigated unemployment will destroy the polity.
How Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan Perpetuates Fraud In Delta State
By Tony Ikelegbe
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has virtually littered every available space on road junctions/roundabouts, street corners with billboards and newspapers of supposedly completed projects around the state.
His government and DESOPADEC have spent over N500 million on advert placements in an attempt to broadcast the falsehood of these phantom projects to the unsuspecting public and the federal government. Over N1 billion has also been spent in bringing senior government officials to the state in an attempt to launder the image of the failing government. But, good things speak for themselves; the projects executed and completed in Lagos state speak volumes much louder than Uduaghan’s billboards. We believe these projects would have served us all better on land rather than in billboards, newspaper pages or CNN.
The budget is the fiscal instrument for implementation of government policies and projects and therefore the ultimate tool for assessment of the overall performance of any government. For the Uduaghan government, the yearly budgetary provision is regarded as a mere annual ritual, as it is just an avenue to allocate public funds to sectors after which they are diverted to phantom projects and/or completely spirited away.
The question now begging for answer is why are projects indicated in budgets and not implemented? Is it lack of funds? Obviously no. Why has Delta State been assuming a financial insolvency status when our Actual Receipts more than meet our Actual Expenditure? Where is the balance money going to?
Records obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Delta State Ministry of Economic Planning shows revenue receipts and expenditure for the past 3 and half years as follows.
YEAR RECEIPTS BUDGETED EXP ACTUAL EXP. DIFF
Jan – Sept
2007 132,968,492,04 89,660,092,831 34,951,322,263 98,017,169,778
2008 155,137,500,694 232,810,646,314 92,051,405,662 63,086,095,032
2009 168,339,224,576 168,083,331,057 Not available
2010 (Jan-Jun) 114,939,466,431 217,176,003,604 Not available
Total monies received by Delta State government from Statutory Allocation, Oil derivation, IGR, VAT, etc. from January 2007 to June 2010 is over N571,384,683,742, one begins to wonder how these monies were spent and which beneficial projects it was used on. It is also most atrocious to note that Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan single handedly authorized the disbursement of over N114 billion been amount received since the beginning of this year as no cash budget has been done in the state as at August 2010 and no virement made.
It is apparent that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has hijacked the state’s resources presuming Deltans are docile and dim-witted citizens hence his obnoxious display of resentment for criticism. The monthly cash budgets for the allocation of resources to various sub heads for payments/disbursement has been cancelled by Dr. Uduaghan in Delta State. Hence, payment to contractors is not possible unless you are a “slave loyalist” or one of his mole contractors who represent him. The reason The Governor has given for non-payment of certified jobs done for the government for which he has claimed ownership of is that, He (Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan) does not want to empower his enemies. Is everybody in Delta state his enemy? If he does not pay for those contracts which formed basis for the past budgets, who does he expect to pay for them?
The highest level of insult the governor has thrown at Deltans is the “Anger Management Seminar” purportedly organized for Deltans – certainly the governor knows, we Deltans are very very angry with his total presentation of a government. A state where contractors are not paid after over 2 years of job completion, teachers’ promotion arrears and welfare have not been effected for the past 3 years. Jakpa/Ekpan road of less than 8km, 4 years running and is still under construction at snail speed but now being hurriedly done as election is drawing near. Yet the Governor has embarked on the dualisation of the 143kms Ughelli/Asaba road including several bridges were over 40% of total sums have been disbursed but not up to 10% of job completed. Obviously he will require 24 years for these elephant projects to be completed. So, why tie down needed funds that could have gone into meaningful township roads/drainage construction and economic projects into these white elephant projects? Definitely, these preferred projects are his drain pipe. As at today over N30billion has been paid out for these elephant projects, which will never be completed.
A whopping N14 billion naira was appropriated for street lights, and maintenance whereas the education and health sector is comatose – dilapidated infrastructure and shortage of staff. Doctors and medical workers are currently on strike for over 9 weeks in a state where we have a medical doctor as governor! Instead of managing the situation, the good Doctor has drawn a battle line with his colleagues.
Uduaghan is propagating poverty inducing policies so that come 2011 elections, Deltans will be all too vulnerable to accept stipends and evil political inducements so as not to revolt against his return. He has craftily paralyzed businesses in Delta state and enriched a very select few “slave leaders”. The end goal – no rivalry, no questions. But would it work? Not this time!
Budgeted sums approved by the state house of assembly for some selected projects from 2007 to 2010 are as follows.
TOTAL SUM APPROPRIATED
2007 TO 2010 STATUS
1 Warri Industrial Park 3,650,000,000 Paper Work
2 Agricultural Youth Development programme 2,100,000,000 Money Disbursed to Loyalist
3 Independent Power Project 25,000,000,000 Site not known
4 Establishment of Gas utilisation scheme 1,100,000,000 No clear direction
5 Installation & Reactivation of street lights in the state 16,666,971,759 Running with the states blood
6 LED Display boards/Electronics decorations round the state 3,550,000,000 Located along busy roads
7 Jakpa/Gbokoda Road 200,000,000 Slow pace of work
8 Sapele/Abigborodo Road 3,950,000,000 No visible work
9 Asaba Airstrip 22,200,000,000 Still under construction with completion date shifted thrice now.
10 Expansion of Osubi Runway 4,502,158,208 No work done
11 Construction of Effurun/Eku road 4,900,000,000 No work done
12 Construction of Ughelli/Asaba dual carriage way 24,000,000,000 %6 completion & Fed Road
13 Construction & Equipping of Specialist Hospital, Oghara 7,700,000,000 completed
14 Construction of Governors Office (New govt house, Asaba) 6,550,000,000 Work Given urgent attention
15 Naval logistics Corps, Oghara 1,160,000,000 Fed.project.
16 Maintenace of govt. house/landscaping 420,000,000 Urgent attention given
17 Beautification and landscaping of Effurun roundabout 290,000,000 Urgent attention given
18 Warri/Effurun Water Supply scheme 4,348,181,053 No drop of water after over 4years
19 Faculty of Engineering (DELSU, Oleh Campus) 1,100,000,000 Snail speed
20. Civic/Event Centre 3,700,000,000 Urgently completed
21. 1.5km Maryam Babangida Way without drainage but with streetlight 500,000,000 Urgently completed without drainages
Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has virtually littered every available space on road junctions/roundabouts, street corners with billboards and newspapers of supposedly completed projects around the state.
His government and DESOPADEC have spent over N500 million on advert placements in an attempt to broadcast the falsehood of these phantom projects to the unsuspecting public and the federal government. Over N1 billion has also been spent in bringing senior government officials to the state in an attempt to launder the image of the failing government. But, good things speak for themselves; the projects executed and completed in Lagos state speak volumes much louder than Uduaghan’s billboards. We believe these projects would have served us all better on land rather than in billboards, newspaper pages or CNN.
The budget is the fiscal instrument for implementation of government policies and projects and therefore the ultimate tool for assessment of the overall performance of any government. For the Uduaghan government, the yearly budgetary provision is regarded as a mere annual ritual, as it is just an avenue to allocate public funds to sectors after which they are diverted to phantom projects and/or completely spirited away.
The question now begging for answer is why are projects indicated in budgets and not implemented? Is it lack of funds? Obviously no. Why has Delta State been assuming a financial insolvency status when our Actual Receipts more than meet our Actual Expenditure? Where is the balance money going to?
Records obtained from the Federal Ministry of Finance and Delta State Ministry of Economic Planning shows revenue receipts and expenditure for the past 3 and half years as follows.
YEAR RECEIPTS BUDGETED EXP ACTUAL EXP. DIFF
Jan – Sept
2007 132,968,492,04 89,660,092,831 34,951,322,263 98,017,169,778
2008 155,137,500,694 232,810,646,314 92,051,405,662 63,086,095,032
2009 168,339,224,576 168,083,331,057 Not available
2010 (Jan-Jun) 114,939,466,431 217,176,003,604 Not available
Total monies received by Delta State government from Statutory Allocation, Oil derivation, IGR, VAT, etc. from January 2007 to June 2010 is over N571,384,683,742, one begins to wonder how these monies were spent and which beneficial projects it was used on. It is also most atrocious to note that Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan single handedly authorized the disbursement of over N114 billion been amount received since the beginning of this year as no cash budget has been done in the state as at August 2010 and no virement made.
It is apparent that Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan has hijacked the state’s resources presuming Deltans are docile and dim-witted citizens hence his obnoxious display of resentment for criticism. The monthly cash budgets for the allocation of resources to various sub heads for payments/disbursement has been cancelled by Dr. Uduaghan in Delta State. Hence, payment to contractors is not possible unless you are a “slave loyalist” or one of his mole contractors who represent him. The reason The Governor has given for non-payment of certified jobs done for the government for which he has claimed ownership of is that, He (Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan) does not want to empower his enemies. Is everybody in Delta state his enemy? If he does not pay for those contracts which formed basis for the past budgets, who does he expect to pay for them?
The highest level of insult the governor has thrown at Deltans is the “Anger Management Seminar” purportedly organized for Deltans – certainly the governor knows, we Deltans are very very angry with his total presentation of a government. A state where contractors are not paid after over 2 years of job completion, teachers’ promotion arrears and welfare have not been effected for the past 3 years. Jakpa/Ekpan road of less than 8km, 4 years running and is still under construction at snail speed but now being hurriedly done as election is drawing near. Yet the Governor has embarked on the dualisation of the 143kms Ughelli/Asaba road including several bridges were over 40% of total sums have been disbursed but not up to 10% of job completed. Obviously he will require 24 years for these elephant projects to be completed. So, why tie down needed funds that could have gone into meaningful township roads/drainage construction and economic projects into these white elephant projects? Definitely, these preferred projects are his drain pipe. As at today over N30billion has been paid out for these elephant projects, which will never be completed.
A whopping N14 billion naira was appropriated for street lights, and maintenance whereas the education and health sector is comatose – dilapidated infrastructure and shortage of staff. Doctors and medical workers are currently on strike for over 9 weeks in a state where we have a medical doctor as governor! Instead of managing the situation, the good Doctor has drawn a battle line with his colleagues.
Uduaghan is propagating poverty inducing policies so that come 2011 elections, Deltans will be all too vulnerable to accept stipends and evil political inducements so as not to revolt against his return. He has craftily paralyzed businesses in Delta state and enriched a very select few “slave leaders”. The end goal – no rivalry, no questions. But would it work? Not this time!
Budgeted sums approved by the state house of assembly for some selected projects from 2007 to 2010 are as follows.
TOTAL SUM APPROPRIATED
2007 TO 2010 STATUS
1 Warri Industrial Park 3,650,000,000 Paper Work
2 Agricultural Youth Development programme 2,100,000,000 Money Disbursed to Loyalist
3 Independent Power Project 25,000,000,000 Site not known
4 Establishment of Gas utilisation scheme 1,100,000,000 No clear direction
5 Installation & Reactivation of street lights in the state 16,666,971,759 Running with the states blood
6 LED Display boards/Electronics decorations round the state 3,550,000,000 Located along busy roads
7 Jakpa/Gbokoda Road 200,000,000 Slow pace of work
8 Sapele/Abigborodo Road 3,950,000,000 No visible work
9 Asaba Airstrip 22,200,000,000 Still under construction with completion date shifted thrice now.
10 Expansion of Osubi Runway 4,502,158,208 No work done
11 Construction of Effurun/Eku road 4,900,000,000 No work done
12 Construction of Ughelli/Asaba dual carriage way 24,000,000,000 %6 completion & Fed Road
13 Construction & Equipping of Specialist Hospital, Oghara 7,700,000,000 completed
14 Construction of Governors Office (New govt house, Asaba) 6,550,000,000 Work Given urgent attention
15 Naval logistics Corps, Oghara 1,160,000,000 Fed.project.
16 Maintenace of govt. house/landscaping 420,000,000 Urgent attention given
17 Beautification and landscaping of Effurun roundabout 290,000,000 Urgent attention given
18 Warri/Effurun Water Supply scheme 4,348,181,053 No drop of water after over 4years
19 Faculty of Engineering (DELSU, Oleh Campus) 1,100,000,000 Snail speed
20. Civic/Event Centre 3,700,000,000 Urgently completed
21. 1.5km Maryam Babangida Way without drainage but with streetlight 500,000,000 Urgently completed without drainages
Remembering Demas Akpore
By SUNNY AWHEFEADA
ON 26 December 2008, people of goodwill shall gather in Ughelli for a memorial lecture in honour of Chief Demas Akpore, one time Deputy Governor of the Old Bendel State (1979-1982), the greatest Orogun son in modern time, and one of the most selfless Nigerians that ever lived. He rose through dints of hard work to overcome daunting existential obstacles to write his name, and that of the entire Orogun in the chronicle of humanity. He gave the greatest legacy any man could give to another when he personally built Orogun Grammar School in 1966. The height of his public record came when he became the first Deputy Governor of Bendel State in 1979.
One of my earliest childhood book encounters that is yet to be lost to the vagaries of memory was the one I had of the Late Chief Demas Onoliobakpovwa Akpore, then His Excellency and Deputy Governor. That encounter took place on the pages of my primary five social studies text book. The year was 1982. Chief Demas Akpore dominated the consciousness of children of my generation in the early eighties. He was a much talked about personality in positive and superlative terms. He was to some of us a symbol of hope and regeneration albeit undefined in our then callow minds. My next symbolic encounter with Chief Akpore was again on the illuminating pages of a book entitled The Good Student written by the educationist per excellence Edwin Oruma in 1984, my first year in secondary school. The book was made a compulsory read for my generation of students. In a chapter entitled “The Dignity of Labour†the author cited the example of Chief Demas Akpore who together with a handful of pioneer students built what is now Orogun Grammar School, Orogun in 1966. Chief Akpore and his team with matchets, spades, wheelbarrows, cleared the forest, dug and laid foundations, erected blocks and did everything including mortgaging his future finances to build the school for his people. Chief Demas Onoliobakpovwa Akpore was born in April 1928 in Warri. A descendant of redoubtable Orogun ancestry, the young Demas attended the Christ Missionary School in Warri for his elementary education. When the prestigious Government College Ughelli was founded in 1945, Demas was among the pioneering students, and it is on record that he was the third student to enroll. His potentials as an academic wizard and a great leader of men blossomed at Government College. After Ughelli he proceeded to the then University College Ibadan to study the then doyen of all disciplines, Classics. His decade at Ibadan also saw Bola Ige, Gamaliel Onosode, Iyalla Joseph Iyalla, Christopher Okigbo, among other cerebral geniuses reading Classics. Demas, we were told, was non pareil. He wrote and spoke Latin as if it was the language of his forebears.
Having deconstructed Graecoromen Scholarship at Ibadan, Demas sailed across seven seas to the Western world in search of more knowledge. He berthed at the University of British Columbia to study for a Master of Arts degree in Classics. He graduated with Distinction in 1958! Demas returned home to render selfless service to his fatherland just getting ready to get sovereignty from British rule.
On his return to Nigeria he became the Principal of United College of Commerce in Warri. His most historic moment in the annals of education was soon to follow. In 1966, enraptured by the dignity of labour he single-handedly founded Orogun Grammar School. He was inspired by a mission which was to bring education to his retarded people. That mission was powered by a vision which held that only through education can a people be fully emancipated. When in the early 1970s, his alma mater Government College Ughelli was in dire straits, it was Chief Demas Akpore that was beckoned at to restore the school to the path of greatness. Thus in 1972 he became the first old boy to be Principal of the school. He was a disciplinarian, exemplary teacher, great sportsman and motivator of people. He took the college to the peak of glory.
By 1978 when partisan politics was given the nod, Chief Akpore pitched his tent with the progressive Unity Party of Nigeria, led by the sage Papa Obafemi Awolowo. However, this was not Akpore’s first foray into politics. He was indeed a nationalist who distinguished himself in the Zikist Movement. He had in the First Republic attained political visibility when he played the enfant terrible and neutralized the unholy alliance between the NCNC and NPC. He emerged from the Schism a hero and eventually championed the formation of the Midwest Democratic Front (MDF). Chief Akpore was an intellectual and philosopher in politics. He was cultured beyond his time. In league with Ambrose Alli, Bola Ige, Michael Ajasin, Bisi Onobanjo, Lateef Jakande, under the patriarchal tutelage of Papa Awolowo, Akpore used his erudition, energy and will power to expand the frontiers of progressive ideals. But, the Nigerian turf could be traitorous to good men, and soon some of Chief Akporeâ party men started scheming to undo him. He resigned his post as Deputy Governor in 1982.
Chief Akpore credentials bestrode Africa. He was a consummate Pan-Africanist who was at home with Jomo Kenyatta (after whom he named his first son), Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Sekou Toure, and other flag bearers of African Liberation.
He was a great family man. Together with his wife Mrs Grace Akpore, they bore six children, Stella, Jomo, Boye, Kevwe, Enaite and Newman. Boye went the way of Bola Ige, A.k. Dikibo, Harry Marshall among other victims of politically motivated killing. Chief Akpore was a great musician, deft with the use of both hands.
•Awhefeada wrote from Delta State beration. Chief Akpore involvement in Pan-Africanism went beyond contact with the proponents of the concept. He read so much about Pan Africanism, and also wrote several tours de force.
Unlike many of his contemporaries Chief Akpore was incorruptible. The story was told of a Lebanese contractor who offered to build him a mansion in Lagos or Warri or any place of his choice. Chief Akpore politely refused. He had only two houses, his country bungalow in Orogun and a storey building built through mortgage loan in Warri! He was a decent man, too decent and too ideal for his Nigeria. When the military regime arrested and jailed thieving politicians in 1984, Chief Akpore was apologized to for being invited for interrogation after investigations revealed that he was as clean as a whistle.
ON 26 December 2008, people of goodwill shall gather in Ughelli for a memorial lecture in honour of Chief Demas Akpore, one time Deputy Governor of the Old Bendel State (1979-1982), the greatest Orogun son in modern time, and one of the most selfless Nigerians that ever lived. He rose through dints of hard work to overcome daunting existential obstacles to write his name, and that of the entire Orogun in the chronicle of humanity. He gave the greatest legacy any man could give to another when he personally built Orogun Grammar School in 1966. The height of his public record came when he became the first Deputy Governor of Bendel State in 1979.
One of my earliest childhood book encounters that is yet to be lost to the vagaries of memory was the one I had of the Late Chief Demas Onoliobakpovwa Akpore, then His Excellency and Deputy Governor. That encounter took place on the pages of my primary five social studies text book. The year was 1982. Chief Demas Akpore dominated the consciousness of children of my generation in the early eighties. He was a much talked about personality in positive and superlative terms. He was to some of us a symbol of hope and regeneration albeit undefined in our then callow minds. My next symbolic encounter with Chief Akpore was again on the illuminating pages of a book entitled The Good Student written by the educationist per excellence Edwin Oruma in 1984, my first year in secondary school. The book was made a compulsory read for my generation of students. In a chapter entitled “The Dignity of Labour†the author cited the example of Chief Demas Akpore who together with a handful of pioneer students built what is now Orogun Grammar School, Orogun in 1966. Chief Akpore and his team with matchets, spades, wheelbarrows, cleared the forest, dug and laid foundations, erected blocks and did everything including mortgaging his future finances to build the school for his people. Chief Demas Onoliobakpovwa Akpore was born in April 1928 in Warri. A descendant of redoubtable Orogun ancestry, the young Demas attended the Christ Missionary School in Warri for his elementary education. When the prestigious Government College Ughelli was founded in 1945, Demas was among the pioneering students, and it is on record that he was the third student to enroll. His potentials as an academic wizard and a great leader of men blossomed at Government College. After Ughelli he proceeded to the then University College Ibadan to study the then doyen of all disciplines, Classics. His decade at Ibadan also saw Bola Ige, Gamaliel Onosode, Iyalla Joseph Iyalla, Christopher Okigbo, among other cerebral geniuses reading Classics. Demas, we were told, was non pareil. He wrote and spoke Latin as if it was the language of his forebears.
Having deconstructed Graecoromen Scholarship at Ibadan, Demas sailed across seven seas to the Western world in search of more knowledge. He berthed at the University of British Columbia to study for a Master of Arts degree in Classics. He graduated with Distinction in 1958! Demas returned home to render selfless service to his fatherland just getting ready to get sovereignty from British rule.
On his return to Nigeria he became the Principal of United College of Commerce in Warri. His most historic moment in the annals of education was soon to follow. In 1966, enraptured by the dignity of labour he single-handedly founded Orogun Grammar School. He was inspired by a mission which was to bring education to his retarded people. That mission was powered by a vision which held that only through education can a people be fully emancipated. When in the early 1970s, his alma mater Government College Ughelli was in dire straits, it was Chief Demas Akpore that was beckoned at to restore the school to the path of greatness. Thus in 1972 he became the first old boy to be Principal of the school. He was a disciplinarian, exemplary teacher, great sportsman and motivator of people. He took the college to the peak of glory.
By 1978 when partisan politics was given the nod, Chief Akpore pitched his tent with the progressive Unity Party of Nigeria, led by the sage Papa Obafemi Awolowo. However, this was not Akpore’s first foray into politics. He was indeed a nationalist who distinguished himself in the Zikist Movement. He had in the First Republic attained political visibility when he played the enfant terrible and neutralized the unholy alliance between the NCNC and NPC. He emerged from the Schism a hero and eventually championed the formation of the Midwest Democratic Front (MDF). Chief Akpore was an intellectual and philosopher in politics. He was cultured beyond his time. In league with Ambrose Alli, Bola Ige, Michael Ajasin, Bisi Onobanjo, Lateef Jakande, under the patriarchal tutelage of Papa Awolowo, Akpore used his erudition, energy and will power to expand the frontiers of progressive ideals. But, the Nigerian turf could be traitorous to good men, and soon some of Chief Akporeâ party men started scheming to undo him. He resigned his post as Deputy Governor in 1982.
Chief Akpore credentials bestrode Africa. He was a consummate Pan-Africanist who was at home with Jomo Kenyatta (after whom he named his first son), Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah, Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, Leopold Sedar Senghor, Sekou Toure, and other flag bearers of African Liberation.
He was a great family man. Together with his wife Mrs Grace Akpore, they bore six children, Stella, Jomo, Boye, Kevwe, Enaite and Newman. Boye went the way of Bola Ige, A.k. Dikibo, Harry Marshall among other victims of politically motivated killing. Chief Akpore was a great musician, deft with the use of both hands.
•Awhefeada wrote from Delta State beration. Chief Akpore involvement in Pan-Africanism went beyond contact with the proponents of the concept. He read so much about Pan Africanism, and also wrote several tours de force.
Unlike many of his contemporaries Chief Akpore was incorruptible. The story was told of a Lebanese contractor who offered to build him a mansion in Lagos or Warri or any place of his choice. Chief Akpore politely refused. He had only two houses, his country bungalow in Orogun and a storey building built through mortgage loan in Warri! He was a decent man, too decent and too ideal for his Nigeria. When the military regime arrested and jailed thieving politicians in 1984, Chief Akpore was apologized to for being invited for interrogation after investigations revealed that he was as clean as a whistle.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
IBB: A Dictator And The Burden Of History
By OLUSOLA FABIYI
The suave former minister of information, Chief Alex Akinyele, is neither a pastor nor an Imam but he seems to have knowledge of the Holy Bible and Quran, if the way he spoke at the presidential declaration of former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) in Abuja on September 15 was anything to go by. Akinyele, who served during the inglorious reign of Babangida, appealed to Nigerians to cultivate the habit of forgiveness, without which, he said, it would be difficult to nurture friendship. This apart, he also said both the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran lay emphasis on clemency.
However, the Ondo State born chief refused to state the issues that his former boss needed to be forgiven of. He also did not tell his audience if the man he was speaking on his behalf had agreed that he had in anyway committed any sin either against Nigeria or Nigerians that necessitated his asking for forgiveness on his behalf.
While many Nigerians had actually in clear terms enumerated many ways in which Babangida had sinned against his fellow Nigerians and his country, the gap-toothed general had consistently refused to budge. He also brazenly resisted that he needed forgiveness. Perhaps, if his presidential ambition has made him forget the past so soon, the African Democratic Initiates, in serial advertorials in major newspapers, has brought to fore, the issues that Babangida, who is aspiring to be president on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, and the likes of Akinyele, need to ponder on.
Referring to IBB, as he is commonly called by his admirers and foes alike, the ADI said, “This man stood against the will of the entire Nigerian nation when he annulled the victory of Chief Moshood Abiola at the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
“This man refused to prove his innocence over the assassination of Dele Giwa and other alleged human rights abuses at the Justice Oputa Panel.
“This man detained Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and other political leaders because they opposed the fraud of the so-called transition programme that shifted the hand-over date from 1990 to 1991, then 1992 and later 1993.”
Nevertheless, as requested by Akinyele, the organisation urged Nigerians to “let us forgive him;” but also asked, “must we forget?” Perhaps, it is in this spirit that many Nigerians are now voicing their opinion, with many wondering what Babangida, who had ruled this country with iron hand, forgot in the Presidential Villa, which he occupied before he was forced out by Nigerians in 1993.
A group, Akwa Ibom Interest Group, described IBB’s presidential ambition as insult to Nigerians. The group, through its leader, Mr. Sylanus Ukpong, said that it was even surprising that Babangida could muster enough courage to still think of running for the presidency when he did not believe in democracy in the first place.
Ukpong said after annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which had been described as the freest and fairest in the interest of Nigeria, Babangida did not have any moral right to ask for Nigerians’ vote. The group said, “When Ibrahim Babangida’s interest to contest the 2011 presidential election in Nigeria became a major political issue in the media, most Nigerians were still in a state of denials because it was difficult to accept the ugly possibility that the former military dictator could dare Nigerians once again, 17 years after annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election that was considered to be the best in the history of Nigeria’s attempt at democracy.
“Today, Babangida has officially declared that he is running for president in 2011. By that, he has urinated on the graves of late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, the nation’s unforgettable icon of democratic struggle who died while fighting to claim the people’s mandate freely given to him on June 12 and hundreds of Nigerians who died in the same course. Today, Babangida has spat on the faces of Nigerians, his message to Nigerians is clear: ‘I can rule this nation again, with or without your consent’.
“We had thought, albeit wrongly, that the former military president would succumb to the numerous voices of wisdom that has cautioned him against seeking election into the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We consider his declaration as another big insult on our collective psyche and our fledging democracy.
“We totally condemn Ibrahim Babangida’s declaration to contest 2011 presidential election in Nigeria. We call on all Nigerians at home and abroad to voice out their protest against Babangida’s insensitivity against Nigeria and Nigerians. Let the ghost of June 12, we invoke, begin to hunt down Babangida and anyone who line out behind him.”
Also, a governorship candidate on the platform of All Nigerian People’s Party in Lagos State, Chief Yomi Tokoya, described Babangida as a threat to free, fair and credible election in 2011. He, therefore, called on Nigerians to ignore those campaigning for him that he has experience to lead the nation once again. While describing his campaigners as “sycophants, praise singers” who he said were all out to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians, Tokoya promised he would soon release a book on why the former military president must not be allowed to lead the nation again.
The book, he said, is co-published and co-sponsored by the Movement for Free and Credible Elections in Nigeria and Save Nigeria Campaign Organisation. He called on Babangida to either withdraw from the presidential race or be prepared to be disgraced.
He said the major objective of the book was to mobilise Nigerians “nation-wide and world-wide to put pressure on Babangida to withdraw honourably now from the presidential race or be disgraced Insha Allah, if he refuses to withdraw.”
Tokoya added that a survey carried out before the book was written indicated that majority of Nigerians were of the opinion that Babangida did not have the moral right to want to lead the country now.
Tokoya said, “Many patriotic, progressive and revolutionary Nigerians interviewed for the opinion poll, asserted that Babangida has no moral right to contest the presidential election in 2011 for many reasons. They responded that most of the varied, complex and intricate social, economic and political problems confronting contemporary Nigeria, were created, accentuated and multiplied by unpatriotic and bad leaders like Babangida.
“We wish to advise patriotic, progressive and revolutionary Nigerians to ignore the current and massive propaganda in the mass media and on the Internet, that Babangida has experience, vision, wisdom, courage to build a new Nigeria. We wish to say categorically that the propagandists, sycophants, praise singers and spin doctors of Babangida are pathological liars, deceitful, crooked, craft and unpatriotic people, who are trying to deceive Nigerians to cast their precious votes for Babangida, an unrepentant kleptomaniac, habitual pretender, everlasting reactionary.
“We hereby reiterate that Babangida is a threat to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria in 2011. We are determined to save Nigeria and Nigerians from Babangida and his few unpatriotic, reactionary, greedy and selfish supporters.”
With the stiff opposition coming from all angles, a human rights activist, Mr. Amitolu Shittu said it would be better for Babangida to drop his presidential ambition. He said Babangida remained the most unpopular leader in the history of the country, adding that the former leader’s advisers had failed to tell him the truth about Nigerians’ aversion to him.
The activist said Babangida would not contemplate contesting the 2011 presidential election if he had a true assessment of the public perception of his antecedents and that his reign as a military ruler would haunt Nigeria for a long time.
The suave former minister of information, Chief Alex Akinyele, is neither a pastor nor an Imam but he seems to have knowledge of the Holy Bible and Quran, if the way he spoke at the presidential declaration of former military dictator, Gen. Ibrahim Babangida (rtd) in Abuja on September 15 was anything to go by. Akinyele, who served during the inglorious reign of Babangida, appealed to Nigerians to cultivate the habit of forgiveness, without which, he said, it would be difficult to nurture friendship. This apart, he also said both the Holy Bible and the Holy Quran lay emphasis on clemency.
However, the Ondo State born chief refused to state the issues that his former boss needed to be forgiven of. He also did not tell his audience if the man he was speaking on his behalf had agreed that he had in anyway committed any sin either against Nigeria or Nigerians that necessitated his asking for forgiveness on his behalf.
While many Nigerians had actually in clear terms enumerated many ways in which Babangida had sinned against his fellow Nigerians and his country, the gap-toothed general had consistently refused to budge. He also brazenly resisted that he needed forgiveness. Perhaps, if his presidential ambition has made him forget the past so soon, the African Democratic Initiates, in serial advertorials in major newspapers, has brought to fore, the issues that Babangida, who is aspiring to be president on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party, and the likes of Akinyele, need to ponder on.
Referring to IBB, as he is commonly called by his admirers and foes alike, the ADI said, “This man stood against the will of the entire Nigerian nation when he annulled the victory of Chief Moshood Abiola at the June 12, 1993 presidential election.
“This man refused to prove his innocence over the assassination of Dele Giwa and other alleged human rights abuses at the Justice Oputa Panel.
“This man detained Major-General Shehu Musa Yar’Adua and other political leaders because they opposed the fraud of the so-called transition programme that shifted the hand-over date from 1990 to 1991, then 1992 and later 1993.”
Nevertheless, as requested by Akinyele, the organisation urged Nigerians to “let us forgive him;” but also asked, “must we forget?” Perhaps, it is in this spirit that many Nigerians are now voicing their opinion, with many wondering what Babangida, who had ruled this country with iron hand, forgot in the Presidential Villa, which he occupied before he was forced out by Nigerians in 1993.
A group, Akwa Ibom Interest Group, described IBB’s presidential ambition as insult to Nigerians. The group, through its leader, Mr. Sylanus Ukpong, said that it was even surprising that Babangida could muster enough courage to still think of running for the presidency when he did not believe in democracy in the first place.
Ukpong said after annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election, which had been described as the freest and fairest in the interest of Nigeria, Babangida did not have any moral right to ask for Nigerians’ vote. The group said, “When Ibrahim Babangida’s interest to contest the 2011 presidential election in Nigeria became a major political issue in the media, most Nigerians were still in a state of denials because it was difficult to accept the ugly possibility that the former military dictator could dare Nigerians once again, 17 years after annulling the June 12, 1993 presidential election that was considered to be the best in the history of Nigeria’s attempt at democracy.
“Today, Babangida has officially declared that he is running for president in 2011. By that, he has urinated on the graves of late Chief Moshood Kashimawo Abiola, the nation’s unforgettable icon of democratic struggle who died while fighting to claim the people’s mandate freely given to him on June 12 and hundreds of Nigerians who died in the same course. Today, Babangida has spat on the faces of Nigerians, his message to Nigerians is clear: ‘I can rule this nation again, with or without your consent’.
“We had thought, albeit wrongly, that the former military president would succumb to the numerous voices of wisdom that has cautioned him against seeking election into the office of the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. We consider his declaration as another big insult on our collective psyche and our fledging democracy.
“We totally condemn Ibrahim Babangida’s declaration to contest 2011 presidential election in Nigeria. We call on all Nigerians at home and abroad to voice out their protest against Babangida’s insensitivity against Nigeria and Nigerians. Let the ghost of June 12, we invoke, begin to hunt down Babangida and anyone who line out behind him.”
Also, a governorship candidate on the platform of All Nigerian People’s Party in Lagos State, Chief Yomi Tokoya, described Babangida as a threat to free, fair and credible election in 2011. He, therefore, called on Nigerians to ignore those campaigning for him that he has experience to lead the nation once again. While describing his campaigners as “sycophants, praise singers” who he said were all out to deceive unsuspecting Nigerians, Tokoya promised he would soon release a book on why the former military president must not be allowed to lead the nation again.
The book, he said, is co-published and co-sponsored by the Movement for Free and Credible Elections in Nigeria and Save Nigeria Campaign Organisation. He called on Babangida to either withdraw from the presidential race or be prepared to be disgraced.
He said the major objective of the book was to mobilise Nigerians “nation-wide and world-wide to put pressure on Babangida to withdraw honourably now from the presidential race or be disgraced Insha Allah, if he refuses to withdraw.”
Tokoya added that a survey carried out before the book was written indicated that majority of Nigerians were of the opinion that Babangida did not have the moral right to want to lead the country now.
Tokoya said, “Many patriotic, progressive and revolutionary Nigerians interviewed for the opinion poll, asserted that Babangida has no moral right to contest the presidential election in 2011 for many reasons. They responded that most of the varied, complex and intricate social, economic and political problems confronting contemporary Nigeria, were created, accentuated and multiplied by unpatriotic and bad leaders like Babangida.
“We wish to advise patriotic, progressive and revolutionary Nigerians to ignore the current and massive propaganda in the mass media and on the Internet, that Babangida has experience, vision, wisdom, courage to build a new Nigeria. We wish to say categorically that the propagandists, sycophants, praise singers and spin doctors of Babangida are pathological liars, deceitful, crooked, craft and unpatriotic people, who are trying to deceive Nigerians to cast their precious votes for Babangida, an unrepentant kleptomaniac, habitual pretender, everlasting reactionary.
“We hereby reiterate that Babangida is a threat to free, fair and credible elections in Nigeria in 2011. We are determined to save Nigeria and Nigerians from Babangida and his few unpatriotic, reactionary, greedy and selfish supporters.”
With the stiff opposition coming from all angles, a human rights activist, Mr. Amitolu Shittu said it would be better for Babangida to drop his presidential ambition. He said Babangida remained the most unpopular leader in the history of the country, adding that the former leader’s advisers had failed to tell him the truth about Nigerians’ aversion to him.
The activist said Babangida would not contemplate contesting the 2011 presidential election if he had a true assessment of the public perception of his antecedents and that his reign as a military ruler would haunt Nigeria for a long time.
Friday, November 19, 2010
FIRST LADY LAWLESSNESS
It was with shock that one read about the military like vituperations of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan during her recent visit to Rivers State. In this twenty first century and in our nascent democracy, the First Lady forgot that she has no constitutional role in the nation’s constitution. By acting as a Headmistress or Militant Commander, she has shown what she will do if her husband wins election next year.
This First Lady intoxication and lawlessness is not limited to the federal level but even to wives of governors. It is high time they knew that no office was assigned to them in the constitution. Whatever they are doing is illegal.
By berating Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Dame Patience Jonathan has shown that she regards governors as part of Aso Rock Staff that can dance to her whims and caprices. Unfortunately, the governors bend over to lick the shoes of the first lady because of 2011.
Dame Patience Jonathan should be reminded that she needs patience and tact in her relationships and utterances. She should also remember that she has to account for whatever fund that might have been donated to her pet project. This applies to other state first ladies. Law enforcement agencies should scrutinize the funding and expenditure of the pet projects of various first ladies.
Finally, Dame Patience Jonathan should also be reminded that her actions will positively or negatively affect her husband’s chances during next year’s election. Many where skeptical of her considering the controversies that surrounded her when she was the first lady in Bayelsa State. She is proving the skeptics right.
This First Lady intoxication and lawlessness is not limited to the federal level but even to wives of governors. It is high time they knew that no office was assigned to them in the constitution. Whatever they are doing is illegal.
By berating Governor Rotimi Amaechi, Dame Patience Jonathan has shown that she regards governors as part of Aso Rock Staff that can dance to her whims and caprices. Unfortunately, the governors bend over to lick the shoes of the first lady because of 2011.
Dame Patience Jonathan should be reminded that she needs patience and tact in her relationships and utterances. She should also remember that she has to account for whatever fund that might have been donated to her pet project. This applies to other state first ladies. Law enforcement agencies should scrutinize the funding and expenditure of the pet projects of various first ladies.
Finally, Dame Patience Jonathan should also be reminded that her actions will positively or negatively affect her husband’s chances during next year’s election. Many where skeptical of her considering the controversies that surrounded her when she was the first lady in Bayelsa State. She is proving the skeptics right.
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