The Eagle Gate

Tag: Nigeria

  • PDP and Wise King Solomon

    PDP and Wise King Solomon

    It is time to understand the dynamics of the political terrain. As at the time of writing this article only three (3) persons can be considered aspirants of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), because they have picked up the Expression of Interest form from the PDP National Secretariat in Wadata, Abuja.

    • Hon. Omosede Igbinedion
    • Hon. Anselm Ojezua
    • Hon. Felix Akhagbue
    Hon. Omosede Igbinedion
    Hon. Anselm Ojezua
    Hon. Felix Akhagbue

    This is an indication that they are serious and ready for the contest for Governor of Edo State 2024. We expect others to join by end of the week or early next week.

    The numerous media hype lately keep us wondering the intent by some would-be aspirants. The PDP National is responsible for screening the contestants/aspirants and conducting the Governorship primaries. The party cannot infringe on the rights of those who choose to contest in the race. One would have expected with PDP’s experience in politics the rancor brewing in the political space would be managed swiftly. Those who own the baby do not want the be baby divided, but there are those who have nothing to do with the baby who believe that the baby must be divided if they do not have their way.

    In a situation like this what would wise King Solomon do?

    We will keep you informed as others join the contest.

  • The Uncommon Legislator Sergius Ogun is at it again!

    The Uncommon Legislator Sergius Ogun is at it again!

    • REHABILITATION OF EWOHIMI WATER WORKS BEGINS, COURTESY OF BARR. SERGIUS OGUN

    Barr. Sergius Ogun is a member of the House of Representative for Esan North-East/South-East Constituency elected for a second term on the platform of the PDP.

    In continuance of his good works through his first term Barr. Sergius Ogun has embarked on the project to bring pipe borne water to the people of Ewohimi. 

    The attached photos capture the desilting of the water. 

    In no distant time, the sad tale of the death and dearth of public water supply in Ewohimi Town will be confined to the dustbin of history as Barr. Sergius Oseasochie Ogun is bringing back the good old days of free pipe borne water for all.

    Representation is all about meeting the basic needs of the people.

    Expect much more from the promise-keeping federal lawmaker!

    No dull moments, more positive actions and impacts all the way!

    Team Sergius Ogun

  • The Peoples Mandate 2019: Atiku’s Battle to save our Democracy- Segun Showunmi

    The Peoples Mandate 2019: Atiku’s Battle to save our Democracy- Segun Showunmi

    A time comes in the life of a nation when men of valour have to stand up and be counted at epochal moments to stop the ship of state from either drowning or derailing. The history of mankind is replete with the exploits of great men and women who rose to become something out of nothing and selflessly shaped the future and destiny of their societies. These men and women make all the sacrifices and at the risk of their personal safety and resources take the difficult road to put their nations on the map of development and progress.

    In China, they keep talking about Mao Zedong (Chairman Mao), in Singapore, it is Lee Kuan Yew, and in South Africa, it is Nelson Mandela. But it is not only presidents or leaders of countries who have had this immense impact in shaping the history of their respective nations’ politics and polity. The history of the United States will not be complete without the sacrifices and advocacy of great men like Martin Luther King (Jr.) and Malcolm X, both of whom paid the ultimate price for their conviction. In Nigeria, we have had the benefit of seeing great statesmen like the eloquent Nnamdi Azikwe, the visionary and selfless Ahmadu Bello, the philosopher-statesman, Obafemi Awolowo, the foremost masses advocate, Aminu Kano among several others.

    These great men used different methods and ways to define the destiny of their respective peoples. They put their resources and talents to use in building virile nations that their future generations have always been proud of.  

    The PDP Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has made an immeasurable success out of his life. From lonely, challenging poverty-stricken childhood, he has through a dint of hard work, diligence and grace of God, risen to become a fulfilled father and husband, a celebrated entrepreneur, cheerful philanthropist and a conscientious nation builder. He has however never failed to acknowledge that in addition to his business acumen and sheer brilliancy, it is the Nigerian society that has made it possible for him to excel in all he has laid his hands on. He has therefore over the years insisted that the society must also give upcoming generations the same platform to succeed as well. That was why since 1992 he has sought to serve the country at the highest level of governance. That was why on the February 23 2019, Nigerian voters who had bought into his vision of a properly structured, economically-sound and prosperous nation voted for him en masse before the enemies of the nation changed the result overnight.  

    Those who are cajoling, begging, intimidating, harassing and blackmailing Atiku not to go to court to challenge the curious figures that INEC boss, Professor Mahmud Yakubu, allocated to President Muhammadu Buhari, are indeed not fair to Nigerians. This is because INEC cannot set a rule and break the rule by itself and be allowed to get away with the grave injustice. The most shocking aspect of the electoral malfeasance put together by INEC which must be of significant interest to our learned justices must be the issue of card readers. The INEC boss emphasized that it must be used for accreditation or an entire polling unit will be cancelled. But when he was presented with the evidence that card readers were not used in most of the places they allocated huge numbers to APC, he threw integrity to the wind by seeking to change the rule in the middle of the game. He said the rule on card readers could be by-passed in the case of any ‘circumvention’ of the machines. Circumvention? How? Why? Where? By Who? And who should suffer the consequences of the so-called ‘circumvention of the card readers?

    Secondly, many of the figures reeled out by the inconsistent INEC boss did not add up and even though he promised to provide clarifications after the announcement, he has not done so nearly two weeks after the polls. There is no better way to detect dishonesty.

    While declaring Buhari as the winner, saying he polled a total of 15,191,847 votes to defeat the Peoples Democratic Party’s (PDP) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, who scored 11,262,978 votes, Yakubu said 29,364,209 voters were accredited, while the total number of valid votes cast were 27,324,583 with total rejected votes of 1,289,607, putting total votes cast at 28,614,190. This means that a total of 1.6 million people were missing in the voter register, considering the fact that the number of registered voters was over 84 million, while the number of collated voters, according to the INEC chairman, was over 82 million.

    Thirdly, we have seen hundreds of videos which came out of Borno, Zamfara, Yobe, Kano, Katsina Sokoto etc where people gather in strange places and thumb printed massively for the APC. The ballot papers used for the election in these selected places must be subjected to thorough forensic checks. If this is done, it will shock Nigerians that in many cases, one person thumb printed hundreds of ballot papers. Why should such disservice to the electoral process be allowed to stand in the name of a narrow definition of peace? There can’t possibly be any real peace without justice and without real peace; we can’t make progress as a nation.    

    Having budgeted N27 billion for technology alone in the 2018 budget, every right thinking Nigerian interested in the credibility of the electoral process expected INEC to for the purpose of transparency and law, display the card reader details to party agents to show how many voters went through the machines. But they did not and this will continue to be a serious dent on the integrity of the election. The difference between the accredited voters and the votes cast, which came to about 750,000 votes is also very suspicious and INEC has some explanations to make.  The cancellations that took place in PDP strongholds impacting 2.7 million voters are also fraud-laden.

    The people who are mocking Atiku and saying his court case is a wild goose chase are not good students of history. These ignoramuses claim that because no presidential election has either been annulled or upturned in the history of the country, Atiku is wasting his time and energy. But we must inform them that the world does not revolve around Nigeria’s history, after all, we have not practised democracy consistently beyond 20 years. That was why some other obsessive historians said the change of guard of 2015 was impossible because it was unprecedented. The fact that that jinx or myth was broken in 2015 should open the minds of people to the reality of the moment that another jinx could be broken in 2019 even if it means Atiku would be the hero once again. But when this happens, would that be the first time Atiku would be setting records and breaking new grounds in the country’s judiciary? The answer is no.

    It is on record that Atiku insisted on testing the Nigerian law in court when his ambition to run for President in 2007 was threatened by EFCC and other government agencies which sought to disqualify him on account of some phony indictments. Atiku went up to the apex court which agreed with him that it was only the judiciary that could find someone guilty of corruption and also disqualify any aspirant from seeking a political office. The landmark cases he won have been sources of references for scholars, Law students and politicians ever since. Since then no governor or President has been able to use state agencies to stop their political rivals from aspiring for any office of their choice.

    If Nigeria is truly a democratic nation, there is no way such malfeasance should be allowed to stand. It is actually easier and cheaper to operate a monarchical system and let a few households rule forever instead of spending billions of naira and losing lives just to conduct what will end up as a charade.           

    Again, Nigeria will not be the first to annul a badly conducted presidential election as there are precedents seen in Europe and even Africa. Ukraine annulled its presidential elections in 2004 after Victor Yanukovych, who had lost to Victor Yuchchenko after the second round, went to court seeking to annul the results over sundry irregularities.

    In Maldives, the country’s Supreme Court invalidated the results of 2013 first round presidential elections pitting former President Mohamed Nasheed and Abdulla Yameen against each other. The later had won the election but the court described the poll as a sham which cannot stand in the sight of the law.

    Similarly, the Constitutional Court of Austria ordered a repeat vote after ruling that Austria electoral law was disregarded in 14 of 117 administrative districts in the 2016 election. In the polls, Alexander Van der Bellen had been declared the winner after beating Norbert Hoffer. It also ruled that 77,900 absentee ballots had been improperly counted too early. They ordered a repeat vote to be conducted in October 2016 but it was postponed to December 2016.

    More recently and closer home in Kenya; the Supreme Court in September 2017 nullified reelection of President Uhuru Kenyatta saying the polls were “neither transparent nor verifiable” and blamed the country’s electoral commission for the shortcomings. Kenyatta, the incumbent president, had won a second term by a margin of 9%, defeating his long-term rival, Raila Odinga before the polls were annulled.  

    Now that Atiku Abubakar has chosen a patriotic battle not only to reclaim his mandate but also expand the horizon of the country’s jurisprudence and improve the electoral process, all Nigerians of good conscience must irrespective of political affiliations rally round him and encourage him. Atiku’s ambition is not just to be President and rescue Nigeria from poverty and insecurity but to also place the country on map of civilized, democratic and progressive nations.

  • CUPP DECRIES FOUL PLAY BY APC LED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

    CUPP DECRIES FOUL PLAY BY APC LED FEDERAL GOVERNMENT

    FROM CUPP

    FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

    February 19, 2019 at 9 am

    • Buhari orders DSS to arrest INEC Federal Commissioner in charge of Operations today.
    • Buhari planning to sabotage and shift Saturday election with instruction to DSS to massively arrest all INEC top leadership who refused to be compromised. 
    • DSS acting Buhari script to detain Prof. Ibeanu INEC commissioner in charge of operations to give room for his sister Amina Zakari to take charge of operations or emerge acting INEC chairman if Buhari APC succeeds in sabotaging Saturday election and forcing INEC chairman out.

    Buhari is planning to sabotage and shift rescheduled Feb 23rd Saturday Election and have directed DSS invite and detain the Federal Commissioner of INEC in charge of Operations Prof. Okechukwu Ibeanu for refusing to help Buhari APC sabotage distribution and compromise of sensitive election materials. 

    The Refusal of INEC to proceed with staggered election during the aborted Feb 16 election which ruined Buhari APC rigging plan is the reason for the new offensive action against INEC to intimidate them into submission. The idea to detain the Federal Commissioner today was on the sole instigation of the former DG of the DSS Lawal Daura who still runs the agency by proxy and convinced Buhari to allow the use of the DSS to clampdown on INEC to force them to do their Bidding or sabotage the rescheduled election and stop it from holding.

    We call on all Nigerians to rise up on against this ongoing leadership abuse and madness which have the potentiality to throw Nigeria into an electoral violence that will enable Buhari execute his lawless order that Security agencies should publicly start killing people under the guise of Ballot box snatching. 

    Ikenga Imo Ugochinyere  CUPP Spokesperson

  • PRESS BRIEFING BY RT. HON. YAKUBU DOGARA, SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

    PRESS BRIEFING BY RT. HON. YAKUBU DOGARA, SPEAKER, HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

    February 18, 2019

    1. This press briefing is to call the attention of well meaning Nigerians and the international community to the incendiary statements made by President Muhammadu Buhari, and Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, national chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the national caucus of their party, earlier today.  

    2. At the meeting the President said: “Anybody who decides to snatch boxes or lead thugs to disturb the election, may be that would be the last unlawful action you would take. I have given the military and police the order to be ruthless. I am going to warn anybody who thinks he would lead a body of thugs in his locality to snatch boxes or to disturb the voting system; he would do it at the expense of his/her own life.”

    3. Mr. Oshiomole also claims that the PDP was given prior notice of the postponement of the elections. 

    4. In this context, we categorically deny these false claims and unnecessary blackmail and regard the President’s statement as a call for extra-judicial killings considering the fact that there are adequate provisions in our laws to address electoral offenses. 

    5. These statements clearly indicate that our democracy has become the victim of a full blown dictatorship, when one considers that a democratically elected President would give a directive that is in clear violation of the laws of the land which by his oath of office he is to defend and protect.

    6. Inview of this statement by the president, it is obvious that the military has been given a central role and coopted into the conduct of the election despite the fact that they have no constitutional role in our electoral process.

    7. It should be noted that our party chairman, Prince Uche Secondus, was the first to call for an inquiry into why the elections were postponed last Saturday.  In reality, we support a genuine and transparent probe into why the presidential and National Assembly elections could not hold. We also hope that the president’s inflammatory statement is not a threat aimed at intimidating the electoral commission. 

    8. We also strongly condemn Mr. Oshiomole’s false, mischievous and inflammatory claims against our party, when he said INEC colluded with PDP to abort last week’s elections. This is a very surprising statement considering the fact  that the Federal government controls every institution and agency involved  in the electoral process, including the CBN, Nigerian Airforce, Aviation authorities amongst others.

    9. From our position, we strongly believe that the deliberate delivery of election materials to the wrong electoral centers, cancellation of flights, and other actions that undermined the logistics arrangement of INEC were deliberately done to sabotage and manipulate the process.

    10.  We are also very familiar with the pressure brought on INEC by top government officials and APC leaders to go ahead with the elections despite not being adequately prepared for the election. We are also aware the APC wanted the INEC chairman to conduct elections in some states and postpone in other states so as to have staggered elections. It should also be noted that the areas that would have been affected by inadequate delivery of materials were PDP strongholds.

    11. It is important to note that  the APC in its usual manipulative style is now shifting the blame on INEC leadership while absolving itself and the other institutions of government under its control of any blame.That is the common strategy that super villains always employ.

    12. Obvioulsy, we know they are doing everything humanly possible to discredit INEC, remove the chairman and stall the process conscious of the fact that they cannot win this election. 

    13. Embarrasingly, this is the first time that we have witnessed a ruling party play victim, which is a clear indication that they have lost the plot. Evidently, their recent actions and statements clearly show they are panicking and desperate to cling onto power, even when the people have rejected them.

    14. Also, opinion polls conducted by the APC, and other international agencies clearly indicate that the APC will lose this election, anytime it is conducted; we believe that is why they are resorting to desperate measures of arm-twisting the electoral commission,  undermining the entire process and planning to unleash terror on the country.

    15. Finally, let it be known that the PDP, with the support of every well meaning Nigerian, will employ every legitimate means to resist  attempts by the APC and the Federal government to undermine and compromise the electoral process and truncate our democracy. 

    16.  The PDP believes in a united and democratic Nigeria and will continue to do all within its means to protect the country, her people and constitution from undemocratic elements. 

    17. We call on all Nigerians not to despair, but turn out en mass on Saturday to vote and defend their votes. We also urge the international community and their observers that are in the country to monitor the election and be vigilant because their presence as impartial arbiters is important in ensuring we have peaceful, credible, free, fair and transparent elections. The security agencies are also enjoined to be impartial and remain loquat to the constitution of the Federal Republic.

    Rt. Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Speaker, House of Representives Federal Republic of Nigeria

  • ONNOGHEN’S SUSPENSION; LET THE RULE OF LAW PREVAIL

    ONNOGHEN’S SUSPENSION; LET THE RULE OF LAW PREVAIL


    Is the CJN exempted from the presumption of innocence guaranteed by our laws? Is the CJN’s appointment not clothed with statutory flavor? If you cannot sack a clerk in a Government Department outside the provisions prescribed by his terms of employment/ public service rules, I wonder why the CJN should be removed from office like a feather from a chicken! If it’s that simple, there would have been no need for constitutional provisions in that regard! Why then did Baron Montesquieu and his likes labour to develop the political theory of separation of powers? Why is it now an elementary feature in the constitutional democracy of most countries of the world?

    According to Dylan Matthews in his article dated 5/10/18 and titled; IMPEACHING A SUPREME COURT JUSTICE IN THE UNITED STATES;

    “Impeachment and removal of a federal judge, including a Supreme Court justice, requires meeting a high political bar. Just as with presidents, a majority of the House must approve an indictment to impeach, and a two-thirds supermajority of the US Senate must convict for the judge or justice to lose their office.”

    I am surprised that a lot of people continue to refer to the allegations against the CJN without considering the procedure prescribed by law to deal with certain category of persons accused of any infraction of the law. I have argued on many occasions that the law itself is a prisoner of procedure. It is illogical to focus on the substantive law which creates, defines and regulates the duties, liabilities and rights of persons while disregarding the procedural law for enforcing civil and criminal law. This does not add up. For example, can you safely convict a man for an offence having not taken his plea before trial? I think not.

    I am still at a loss as to how a court of law or an inferior Tribunal like the Code of Conduct Tribunal can grant an ex-parte order on a date unknown to all parties, following a purported ex-parte application in respect of a subject matter which the same body adjourned to a future date for arguments to be taken from the respective parties as agreed in open court.

    Why would an inferior Tribunal not obey the restraining orders of separate superior court of records which restrained it from continuing with the proceedings before it? Nothing in the Constitution makes CCT a superior court of records and the Supreme Court affirmed this in Saraki vs FRN (2016) 3 NWLR( Pt. 1500) 531.

    Why will the CCT not respect the proceedings pending before the court of appeal to which appeals from CCT lie?

    In the operational system of the rule of law, the courts and judges remain the tonic from which the law itself is nourished. Let me fizzle out any doubt about the power of the courts by referring to the words of the legendary American Supreme Court judge and scholar, Oliver Wendell Holmes, jrn. The learned jurist in his work; The Common Law, (1881) had this to say;

    “The decisions of judges, viewed over time, determined the rules of conduct, the legal duties, by which all were bound.”

    He did not stop there. In his work; The path of the law (1897), he went further to say that;

    “[T]he prophecies of what the courts will do in fact, and nothing more pretentious, are what I mean by the law.”[20]:458.

    Against this background, can it be said that the CCT was right to have disregarded pending litigation in the courts of our country which have constitutional duties to determine disputes between persons and Government? The answer in my opinion is no.

    No sensible person can be opposed to the lawful trial of anyone, no matter how highly placed if there is an allegation of infringing the law against such a person. The very strong point being made here is very simple; where there is a constitutional method set out for sanctioning a judicial office holder which has over time being recognized by the courts of law, such judicial officer cannot be removed by any other means other than that prescribed by law.

    In the circumstances, the CCT was wrong to have made the ex-parte order under reference. If the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation facilitated this type of order, then it acted infra dig. The President was also wrong to have acted on it. The proper thing to do now is for the aggrieved party to get the court of Appeal to set that unlawful ex-parte order aside forthwith and let the status quo be returned in our national interest. That would not stop the Government from prosecuting the CJN upon the charges brought against him as long as they do so appropriately.

    God bless Nigeria!

    Dr. West-Idahosa.

  • The Buhari Administration Claim on Rice Production Is False

    The Buhari Administration Claim on Rice Production Is False

    ATIKU MEDIA PRESS RELEASE…..

    The Buhari Administration Claim on Rice Production Is
    False

    Abuja, Nigeria, 06 November, 2018: On several occasions, the Buhari administration has bragged that their biggest achievement is reducing Nigeria’s dependence on foreign rice. Recently, President Buhari himself made this boast when he said to British Prime Minister, Theresa May on April 16, 2018 as follows:

    “We have cut rice importation by about 90%, made lots of savings of foreign exchange, and generated employment.

    People had rushed to the cities to get oil money, at the expense of farming. But luckily, they are now going back to the farms. Even professionals are going back to the land. We are making steady progress on the road to food security.”

    This claim was also made by the Minister of Agriculture, Chief Audu Ogbeh, who on May 2, 2018 said as follows: “Unemployment in Thailand was one of the lowest in the world, 1.2 per cent, it has gone up to four per cent because seven giant rice mills have shut down because Nigeria’s import has fallen by 95 per cent on rice alone”.

    However, recently released data from the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) World Markets and Trade Report has proven these claims by President Muhammadu Buhari and his government to be false.

    According to the World Markets and Trade Report of the USDA, which is a public document, Nigeria imported three million metric tonnes of rice in 2018, which is 400,000 metric tonnes more than the quantity of the product
    imported in 2017.

    It does not end there. The report shows that there has actually been a steep drop in commercial rice production from its 2015 peak under the previous Peoples Democratic Party administration.

    According to the report “Nigeria had consistently milled 3,780,000 metric tonnes annually – a drop from 3,941,000 metric tonnes recorded in 2015.”

    The Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation therefore wishes to appeal to President Buhari and his government to be truthful to the Nigerian public, rather than claim progress they have not made, because no matter how far and fast falsehood has travelled, it must eventually be overtaken by the truth.

    Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar will always be honest and transparent with the Nigerian people as he carries all citizens along in his mission to Get Nigeria Working Again.

    Atiku Presidential Campaign Organisation
    120, Adetokunbo Ademola Crescent, Wuse II, Abuja, Nigeria.

  • TRADERS IN UNIFORM!

    TRADERS IN UNIFORM!

    The new Webster’s dictionary of the English language (International Edition) describes a trader as “a person engaged in some form of commerce”. Trading itself is an ancient occupation that has been practised by men, institutes and nations over the years. Trade disagreements have often led to several wars amongst the various people’s of the world. Inspite of this, trading remains one of the veritable tools in economic relations world – wide.

    Even within Nigeria, trading is an accomplished phenomenon. From the days of King Jaja of Opobo, Nana of Itsekiri, Oba Ovoramwen of Benin Kingdom to the Alafin of Oyo, trading was the major economic activity of the pre-independence Nigerian societies. In today’s Nigeria, trading maintains its pre-eminent position as the nation’s leading activity since the manufacturing sector has virtually collapsed due to the inadequacy of generated power to sustain the sector.

    The only strange development in all these is the presence in Nigeria of a peculiar set of traders. These special traders have no capital and need none. They require no collateral to secure any facility from financial institutions for the purpose of purchasing their wares. Nothing like that. They require no shops and are therefore spared the luxury of paying rent for their trading activities. They pay no taxes on the “goods” they trade on and require no form of advertisement. Their business is very lucrative and their profit margin is unbelievable. These super traders only require their uniforms and firearms purchased from the tax-payers’ money to carry out their activities.

    Their trading points are very strategic. They operate from major roads, high ways, airports, seaports, border posts and Government offices.

    Of all the uniformed traders, the one with the most notorious presence is the Police. This is so because of the nature of their statutory duties. The importance of their role in modern society is emphasized by Section 214 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. This Section creates the Nigeria Police Force for the purpose of securing public safety, public order as well as the protection of public and private properties.

    In these capacities therefore, they daily arrest persons suspected to have committed offences ranging from misdeamenour to felony. Suspects are upon their arrest taken to various Police stations. At these stations, the suspects are unduly detained without any notification of their rights. At the end of the game, such suspects are made to illegally part with their hard earned money after severe negotiations for the purchase of their “freedom”. These negotiations usually take place inspite of the conspicuous inscription that has become the favourite slogan of every Police Station; “BAIL IS FREE”.

    A few weeks ago, I had cause to travel to Lagos by road from Benin City. On our way to Lagos, we did not encounter any problem with any set of persons. It was simply a jolly ride except for the bad patches common with Nigerian roads these days.

    It was on our return trip from Lagos that we entered the real world of uniformed traders. From Shagamu to Benin City, there were several check points which were indeed trading posts. At these points there were long queues of cars, buses, trucks and other vehicular equipments. Some of them were for private use while others were on commercial journeys. The occupants of these vehicles milled around the policemen who manned these points waiting to take their turns in negotiating their exit. The commuters paid different amounts depending on the purported contravention for which they were stopped. They ranged from driving without an appropriate license, expired vehicle particulars, tinted wind screen without permit, non-possession of fire extinguisher and reflective triangle signs, to driving vehicles without registration number plates. The policemen savoured power and importance. They looked upon their victims and fined them various sums. Non – possession of driving licence attracted between N100 and N200 depending on the negotiating skills of the victims. Driving a vehicle with tinted wind screen without police permission or driving a vehicle without registration number plates were big deals. The victims had to cough out as much as N2,000 or stand the risk of having their vehicles impounded. These transactions were carried out in broad-day light without fear or favour. It did not matter whether other road users included senior public officers.

    As the police tormented passengers from one check point to another, the vehicle inspection officers joined the fray. Their targets were rickety looking vehicles and trucks appearing to have exceeded their weight limits. These vehicles were pulled over for new rounds of negotiations. This time the victims would have to part with a minimum of N500 for rickety looks and N1,000 for overweight. Since the majority of victims in this category were on commercial journeys, the business was usually quick and to the point.

    Thereafter, the officers of the Nigerian Customs would take the centre stage. They would point their guns menacingly at any vehicle without registration number plates or large trucks appearing to be carrying goods. The officers would demand for one form of documents or the other including non existing documents. Overwhelmed by the demands of the officers, their victims would surrender to a fresh bout of negotiations. Again, they are forced to part with some money. This is the story of the average commuter in our country.

    Police check points have suffered from frequent policy summersaults. No one can really tell why these check points exist when they do. One or two previous Inspectors-General of Police purportedly banned them. They claimed at that time that all check points had been called off and purported check points were illegal and should be promptly reported to the Police. They may have been right, but we all know that the check points are validly back. What the police refer to as check points are actually not such. The present Inspector General should be told that Nigerians have no problem with genuine check points. The real problem is with the police trading points that exist till date. What operates today does not deter crime in our society. Indeed, criminals have been known to rob passengers on the highways very close to such check points with no rescue efforts made by those uniformed men who man such check points.

    Those who have never visited any Immigration office to secure a Nigerian passport may probably not know what goes on there. The average official cost for the issuance of a standard passport is between N18,000 and N19,000 naira. I do not know of anyone who can recall paying just that to get his or her standard passport issued. Uniformed Immigration officers loiter around their office premises soliciting for clients who are in turn charged between N25,000 and N35,000 naira to obtain a standard passport. The innocent victims of these officers are compelled to patronize the emergency business centres opened in their office premises and owned by such officers for the purpose of completing their paper work if their applications for standard passports are to receive any attention. As the passport trade blossoms around their office premises, expatriates and foreign nationals are seen running around the senior immigration officers to grant them extension of their stay in Nigeria or to obtain some form of temporary work permit (T.W.P). This time, the senior officers do not reckon with our local currencies. Serious applicants must approach them with the US dollars, British pounds or the Euro currency. Anything short of this, whatever the application is would crumble like a pack of cards. Not even the spouses of Nigerian Nationals are spared from this ordeal. At the airports of the Nation, Immigration Officers, shamelessly demand bribe from returning Nigerian Nationals and visitors alike. Foreigners are known to sometimes keep between $20 and $50 notes inside their passports just to get into the Country having arrived without the appropriate entry visas. This is the extent to which these officers are prepared to compromise our national security just for a few dollar notes. As the Immigration officers persist in their trade, the Custom officers at the airport pretend to be busy searching such luggage for contraband or prohibited items. To those who are strange to the deal, they may assume that they mean business and end up actually opening such boxes for examination. The truth is that those Custom officers are really not interested in searching such boxes. Their real interest is in how much box-owners are prepared to offer for their own convenience.

    An offer of N1500 naira to a Custom officer at the airport would not only earn you an unjustified exemption from a search, it would attract an additional official salute for a job well done.

    Unlike the real economic traders, these uniformed ones have militated against our efforts at building a strong nation. They have brought distress, sorrow and tears to the Nigerian people. They have ridiculed our nation in the eyes of the international community. They are the real obstacles to the emergence of a disciplined and egalitarian nation.

    If our Country wishes to realize its visions whether, in the year 2020 or in future, it must curtail the activities of these traders of doom in uniforms provided by tax payers’money. There is no other way than to do just this. Will President Buhari look in this direction in pursuit of corrupt public officials? Only time will tell.

  • DREAMING AS A NATION

    DREAMING AS A NATION

    The 2019 elections are fast approaching. The political tempo in the land is gradually cruising into high altitude. Whether the elections would be free and fair is of concern on one hand, while the other serious worry is whether those that would be elected have any worthy dream to rescue our very emasculated nation from the abyss of poverty, ignorance, disease, insecurity, human and capital flight. It would be wishful thinking to assume that the mere successful conduct of elections would deepen our democracy without a corresponding dream as a Nation to renew our national life in the hope of joining the league of developing nations.

    Many, may, underestimate the power of dreams, but let no one make a mistake about its potency. Several of the leading Nations of the world and industry captains of today are where they are because they dreamed dreams and worked sincerely to realize those dreams. For those who are Christians, the Bible is not only a spiritual authority, it is a veritable source of the history of mankind and Nations. The Bible lends credence to the theory of the potency of dreams. Let me recount one of the most common accounts in the Holy Bible, this account can be found in the Book of Genesis, Chapter 41.

    Pharaoh, the king of Egypt had a dream. In that dream, “Seven fat, healthy looking cows suddenly came up out of the river and began grazing along its Bank. Then seven other cows came up from the river, but these were very ugly and gaunt. These seven other cows went over and stood beside the fat cows. Then the thin ugly cows ate up the fat ones”. Pharaoh became very concerned about the meaning of that dream and sought the interpretation from one Joseph, a young Hebrew who had a huge reputation for interpreting dreams.

    Joseph told Pharaoh that the seven fat cows represented seven years of prosperity while the seven thin cows stood for another seven years of famine that would follow those years of prosperity. He then advised Pharaoh to appoint a wise man to be in charge of a nation-wide programme to prepare for the famine that would follow the prosperity. He recommended that such officer should store 1/5 of the crops to be harvested during the year of prosperity into the royal store houses. In that way there would be enough to eat during the period of the expected famine. Pharaoh took no chances. He appointed Joseph to be in charge of such National programme. Joseph dealt with the situation in a prudent manner. As interpreted, the years of famine truly followed the years of prosperity but there was plenty to eat and a national calamity was averted from just a dream.

    If anyone still doubts the power of dreams, how about this popular one that most of us already know. Martin Luther King (jr) was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia, to the Reverend and Mrs. Martin Luther King. He followed his father’s foot steps and became a Baptist Minister in 1947. In 1955, Rosa Parks, a black Seamstress, took a seat in the section of a Montgomery bus reserved for whites in the USA. When the driver asked her to move to the back under the state’s segregation law, she refused and was arrested. Martin Luther King (Jr) then launched the Montgomery Bus boycott. He became the symbol of the civil u movement and America itself. On the occasion of the “March on Washington for jobs and freedom” the August in 1963, King delivered the famous “I have a dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln memorial in Washington to 250,000 civil rights supporters. The dreams were indeed many. I would only deal with the few that are related to this piece;

    – “ I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: we hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal”

    – “I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia the sons of slaves and the sons of former slave. owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood”

    – “I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character. I have a dream today!”

    King did not just have dreams. He worked hard to realize those dreams. By 1964 the world acknowledged his hard work and rewarded him with the Nobel peace prize. Even when he was aware of threats to his life, King continued to work for his dreams to come true. With a premonition of the imminence of his death, King said, “well, I don’t know what will happen now. We have got some difficult days ahead. But it doesn’t matter with me now. Because I’ve been to the mountain top … And I’ve seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight that we, as a people will get to the Promised Land”.

    Today, the American people have truly reached that Promised Land. America is living out the true meaning of its creed that all men are created equal. The election of Barrack Obama as the US president in November, 2008 marked the total realization of King’s dreams. Together, Obama and Biden sat at the table of brotherhood in the white House to preside over the United States. The content of Obama’s character prevailed over the colour of his skin. Such is the power of a dream.

    The Nigerian Nation must therefore not despair in this trying moments of our national life. We must dream as other great nations did. Hon. Justice Chukwudifu Oputa, a retired Justice of the Supreme Court at the third Obafemi Awolowo Foundation Dialogue once asked a useful question: “can we make Nigeria greater than nature made her…?” The learned Judge provided his own answer. He said as follows: “my answer is yes … if and only if our leaders have the sagacity of an Otto Von Bismark, the wisdom of a Cavour, the adroitness of a Mazini, the patriotism of a Gandhi and the selflessness of a Nyerere. ”

    Part of our National creed is to be found in the 1999 constitution of our country which states interalia; “AND TO PROVIDE for a constitution for the purpose of promoting the good government and welfare of all persons in our country on the principles of freedom, Equality and justice and for the purpose of consolidating the unity of our people”. Are we truly dreaming of living out the real meaning of this creed? Can we claim to have promoted the principles of equality and justice when there is no equal access to good Medicare and Education in our country? What is the state of our public schools today and how many of the children of those charged with the governance of this Nation attend such schools? What has happened to our public hospitals over the years and why have they become glorified death places for very minor ailments?

    The truth is that there is neither equality nor justice in our national life. The Buhari regime may have had the heart to begin the process, but that momentum appears stunted by policy duplicity, official lethargy of public functionaries and excessive bloodletting of uncommon proportions. The regime may have learnt its lessons and the entire country now wants a better deal.
    The good news is that we can begin to dream of it now. Let us start with the basic dreams:

    – That some day before year 2022, this nation would generate over 25,000 MW of power for the use of its millions of citizens.

    – That someday, this nation would upgrade its public schools at all levels to globally accepted standards and the products of such schools would no longer face the international discrimination that they suffer today.

    – That someday, this nation would upgrade its health institutions to health-care delivery levels away from its present day notoriety of being regarded as death centres.

    – That someday, this nation would truly be governed by the rule of law and founded on equality before the law, where high profile thieves in public life would no longer scorn the law and make only petty thieves of necessity to face the law.

    But these dreams would never come to pass until we find leaders who would “show the light and people will find their way” as Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe epitomized by the slogan of his now defunct newspaper, the West African Pilot. Our Nation must learn from Queneau Raymond, a twentieth century philosopher who fizzled out all doubts about the need to dream in his famous statement that “man’s usual routine is to work and to dream”.

    *Dr. Ehiogie West- Idahosa is a former Member of the House of Representatives, lawyer and public policy expert.

  • THEY COLLUDE! THEY COLLUDE!! (PART ONE)

    THEY COLLUDE! THEY COLLUDE!! (PART ONE)

    Dateline: Circa December 2017
    Location: The Plains of Adamawa/Taraba Border, North East Nigeria

    SOS messages got to Defense HQ that villages in a Numan and Demsa Local Government Area of Adamawa State was under attack by Herdsmen and scores had already been slaughtered by the rampaging lot while homes and farms were being set ablaze. Due to the terrain and the distance of these villages from the base of the military forces, HQ decided that the best way to act fast and decisively was to deploy its aerial capability.

    Fortunately, the military operation in that area had been fortified with the deployment of an Alpha Jet and EC 135 Helicopter by the Nigerian Air Force, so it was not a problem. Pronto, these beauties were ordered to proceed to the affected areas & the necessary munitions loaded.

    It was as if the stars were in alignment as the fighters in the crafts saw to their amazement hundreds of well armed Herdsmen in full combat gears, dressed in Black burning homes, razing farms and engaging in a killing spree. These Herdsmen were armed to the hilt. On sighting the crafts the Herdsmen started retreating. Meanwhile, the forces in the fighter jets had sort permission to engage. Surprisingly, the order was not given, curiously, HQ told them just to “scare” the Herdsmen but they should not shoot to kill. The forces started shooting wide. The Herdsmen on realizing that these forces were not targeting them became emboldened and started shooting at the jets. It was simply good fortune that none of the jets were shot down that day. The Herdsmen calmly took their herds and crossed over to the Taraba side of the border. An opportunity to neutralize hundreds of these blood thirsty criminals lost.

    Fast forward to January this year, this time in Benue State, another SOS signal was received by HQ to the effect that hundreds of well armed Herdsmen had invaded Guma, Kwande and Gwer-west. Luckily, stationed in these areas were Special Forces and military personnel that had been drafted to provide security to these areas. However, as the marauding Herdsmen commenced their bloodletting and razing of villages, the military could only look on. Even when many ran to the outposts, they could not find succor there as they were mindlessly killed by the killer Herdsmen. The soldiers refused to raise a finger to stop the carnage for they were under strict orders not to shoot. After hours of brigandage, the Herdsmen left the villages leaving Sorrow, tears and blood in their wake.

    In February of this year, intelligence had pinpointed the exact location of Shekau and troops had been mobilized in a daring operation to get the BH leader. Five miles from his location and having cordoned off any escape routes, troops got ready to move in for the final onslaught against the wanted murderer, but again, orders came from Operations Command to delay any further action. The BBC reported that the suspension lasted for two days; time enough for Shekau and his 200-300 fighters to flee from the area. Following the increase in the attacks by Herdsmen in the Middle-Belt, many prominent voices have been raised alluding to some hidden ethno -religious agenda by the Herdsmen to conquer territories and foist their religious beliefs on the entire country. My immediate response to that absurd conspiracy is to irritatingly dismiss it and I will not waste my precious time here trying to advance any further arguments to prove the extent of its absurdity. However, I am concerned that the military will allow festering, a crisis that is clearly capable of rocking the very foundations of the existence of Nigeria; the task of preventing this outcome at the core of the avowed goals of the tradition of a military that had to fight a civil war. It is my considered opinion that the security situation is seemingly becoming intractable for two reasons.

    1) The erosion/destruction/compromise of professionalism in the military by the political class

    2) The Military -Industrial Complex (read corruption). Ok fellas, let’s go for tea break. We will be revealing some things in the part two with data.

    One of the greatest misfortunes of military rule in Nigeria, amongst its several ills was the destruction of professionalism. Due to the constancy of putsches, military rulers engaged in executions and wanton retirement of perceived and real enemies within their ranks, and replacing the retired or slain officers with their lackeys and cronies, hence altering the balance and sequence of promotions. Most times, those who were handed sensitive, lucrative and command positions were colleagues from the same ethnic stock as the C-in-C and his kitchen Coterie were also selected using same criteria. This tradition was deepened by the gap-toothed General and the late goggle wearing one. Professionalism was thrown overboard. This was the case until OBJ arrived. As many would remember, one of the deft moves of the Ebora Owu In the first few weeks of his administration was to order the retirement of every officer that had benefitted from political appointments during the interregnum. This singular move affected many from a section of the country who had been the main beneficiaries of cronyism. With this, some level of sanity started returning to the military institution. This sanity was important for a very critical reason. No institution in Nigeria embodies the unity of the country like the military. While the political class tends to abuse the federal character requirements of the Constitution, the military is the only institution in Nigeria that adheres to a very strict code of federal character in its recruitment especially at the officer Corps level. The NDA recruitment for example is limited to three persons per state based on Senatorial zones. Promotions within the military is so regimented that federal character balancing is done giving consideration to local governments. So, you may find it extremely difficult to see to Generals of equal ranks from the same local government were there are others within the same state yet to benefit. OBJ restored these traditions. Subsequent Presidents also maintained this tradition which saw the rise of an Igbo son, General Ihejirika, for the first time since the Civil War to the position of COAS. It is this professionalism that makes it difficult for the military to be fragmented along ethnic lines. Most times, the military Camaraderie finds senior officers from other zones or regions mentoring junior officers from different zones. This is because they know that they have more threat from individuals from same place as them rather than those from other regions. The military promotions system waits for no one and therefore, an officer could be overtaken by a junior officer from same place as him/her if they fail the tough exams. But this tradition is now under threat with PMB.

    News of mass retirement of officers from certain sections of the country made the rounds shortly after the president’s ascension of office. To make matters worse, all the Service Chiefs but one that he has so far appointed is a ridicule of that fine military tradition of Unity.
    These appointees, having read perfectly the body language of their C-in-C as regards the Herdsmen crises, a body language that I explained in an earlier thread, have simply refused to act decisively in dealing with the crises. The same military that acted swiftly to deal a mortal Blow to IPOB is now looking helpless. They certainly are not helpless. The political will from the political class is lacking.

    To be continued…

    Chima Amadi
    @AMADICHIMA