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Category: Editorial

  • How not to be an opposition in Abia

    How not to be an opposition in Abia

    By Okechukwu Keshi Ukegbu


    When evil men plot, good men must plan. When evil men burn and bomb, good men must build and bind. When evil men shout ugly words of hatred, good men must commit themselves to the glories of love. Where evil men would seek to perpetuate an unjust status quo, good men must seek to bring into being a real order of justice.” ~Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King.
    Every good intention is prone to be hijacked by men of evil intentions to feather either their political, economic or social nest. The current protests in some parts of the country calling for an end to police brutality and which has culminated in the disbandment of the notorious police unit, Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) is not an exception.
    Strong indications are emerging of infiltrators hijacking the protests to satisfy selfish purposes other than the philosophy and interest driving the protest. 
    In Benin the ugly intentions snowballed to prison break. In Abia, the government accused opposition elements of plots to veer off intentions by which the protests were conceived to score cheap political ambitions. The some aim of this is to discredit Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu’s government  despite the much he has achieved.
    The desperate ambitions of opposition elements in Abia to capitalize on any given opportunity to destabilize the state is now recurrent.
    This has manifested in several forms. These elements have dissipated numerous energies through litigations to truncate the mandate of the governor that one of them was branded ” meddlesome interloper”.
    The trend has degenerated to an all time low that one of them to achieve a political propaganda shot himself on the leg by lying that a living traditional rulers was dead.
    Ambition is good but over ambition is disastrous. No wonder Wolsey admonished Cromwell thus: “WOLSEY. . .Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition. By that sin fell the angels; how can man then, The image of his Maker, hope to win by it? Love thyself last, cherish those hearts that hate thee; Corruption wins not more than honesty. Still in thy right hand carry gentle peace, To silence envious tongues. Be just and fear not; Let all the ends thou aim’st at be thy country’s, Thy God’s, and truth’s. Then if thou fall’st, o Cromwell, Thou fall’st a blessed martyr. Had I but served my God, with half the zealI served my King, he would not in mine age have left me naked to mine enemies”.
    Opposition elements in Abia State should not underrate Apostle James’ classical imagery in the Book of James 3:6: “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell.” The point here is that like fire, the words we speak have the potential for causing great harm. This is similar to the admonition in Proverbs 18:21: “The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

  • Obasanjo says 14m children are out of school in Nigeria

    Obasanjo says 14m children are out of school in Nigeria

    Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, on Saturday declared that in Nigeria today, over 14 million children that should be in school were not in school, and thereby deprived of education.

    Mr Obasanjo made this known in Lagos at the virtual 2020 Fellowship Graduation Ceremony of the second cohort of “Teach for Nigeria Fellows”.

    The News Agency of Nigeria reports that “Teach For Nigeria”, an NGO, graduated 161 fellows who have impacted approximately 9,660 students in 80 schools across Lagos, Ogun, and Kaduna States.

    NAN reports that “Teach For Nigeria” focuses on developing a movement of leaders across Nigeria who are committed to putting an end to educational inequity.

    Mr Obasanjo said: “They are deprived of opportunities that will allow them to develop their abilities and become useful to themselves and their communities.

    “It is evident that at this point, to transform our education system in a sustainable way, Nigerian youths must take up leadership positions.”

    According to him, our youths must champion different innovative solutions at every level of the society and across different sectors.

    “It is inspiring to see the work that ‘Teach For Nigeria’ is doing to equip promising future leaders with the skills and experience to drive the change that we need,” the former president said.

    He added that the leaders had dedicated their time, energy and resources to inspire love for learning, improved educational outcomes, and enhanced life opportunities for children in the classrooms.

    “As a result of your commitment, your pupils have succeeded at various academic and non-academic competitions.

    “I recently learnt about pupils of ‘Teach For Nigeria Fellows’ who came second in the National Lafarge Competition and other scholarship opportunities.

    “They also initiated actions by working with stakeholders such as parents, community members, heads of schools and other teachers,” Mr Obasanjo said.

    He, however, advised the fellows to continue to leverage their acquired skills and experiences to advocate for educational excellence in the country.

    The former president urged them to be ambassadors for change, driving the movement for freedom and justice in Nigeria.

    “I strongly advise that you remain resilient in your fight for educational equity, not relenting on the strides of deploying solutions to tackle the myriads of problems confronting our education system.

    “Please do not let anybody tell you that you are leaders of tomorrow, you are leaders today,” Mr Obasanjo said.

    He noted that the outbreak of the raging Coronavirus pandemic had put the world at its knees as the whole world strives to develop a vaccine and successful treatments to fight the disease.

    “So far, the damage in Africa has been moderate; but if we relax, the African continent can become the worst affected from the economic fallout of the crisis,” Mr Obasanjo said.

    He said that our education system was already in crisis before the pandemic hit us.

    “The outbreak has exacerbated the ever-widening gulf between the learning opportunities of our most privileged children and our less privileged children.

    “To close the dangerous gap as a nation, we require prompt action from well-meaning Nigerians imbued with courage, patriotism, commitment, foresight and love,” Mr Obasanjo said.

    Also, Folawe Omikunle, the Chief Executive Officer, Teach For Nigeria, said that graduating fellows had spent the past two years improving the academic outcomes of their pupils.

    Mr Omikunle said that they ignited the love for learning in these pupils, instilling self-belief, successfully galvanising parental and community support to aid pupils learning process.

    “The graduating 161 fellows are joining our maiden set of 44 Alumni members, thereby bringing the number of our Alumni network to 205 members.

    “Teach For Nigeria is a life-long commitment in the fight against educational inequity.

    “We are positive that our Alumni will continue to work toward ensuring that one day we have a Nigeria where every child can attain an excellent education,” she said.

  • Sovereign Immunity: When Lawmakers Mislead The Public

    Sovereign Immunity: When Lawmakers Mislead The Public

    In the last few weeks the media both mainstream and social media have been on a frenzy since the House Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreement sold the wild card that the federal government have signed away Nigerian’s sovereignty.

    We recall that two weeks ago the House of Representatives had raised the alarm over loan agreements being entered into by the Federal Government specifically with China.
    According to the lawmakers, Nigeria will concede its sovereignty if the country defaults in the repayment plan.

    The House Committee on Treaties, Protocols and Agreements, which raised the alarm, expressed its resolve to review loan facilities already taken by the country from China and other countries.

    Chairman of the committee, Nicholas Ossai, faulted non-involvement of the National Assembly in loan negotiations by the Federal Government and its officials. The committee specifically cited Article 8(1) of the agreement, which states that, ‘the borrower hereby irrevocably waives any immunity on the grounds of sovereign or otherwise for itself or its property in connection with any arbitration proceeding pursuant to Article 8(5), thereof with the enforcement of any arbitral award pursuant thereto, except for the military assets and diplomatic assets.’

    Ossai said, “I have also seen from the Ministry of Communications where Nigeria signed off some certain level of its sovereignty if part of the clauses is breached.

    “So, when the National Assembly reacts in this manner, to question some level of agreements being entered into by any ministry of this country with any other nation, we have every right to question that; because anything that is going to happen will happen to our generations unborn.”

    The media immediately went into overdrive believing that the administration has actually signed away the nation’s sovereignty on its loan agreements especially with China.

    But as the dust began to settle down and experts and lawyers on the subject began to weigh in, it became obvious that the House Committee on treaties and protocols led by Hon. Nicholas Ossai only raised a false alarm

    Giving clarification on the subject later the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami together with the Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, faulted the National Assembly’s position that the nation’s sovereignty was at risk following the loan agreement with China.

    During a live television programme in Abuja, the pair said the lawmakers were concentrating on the diplomatic immunity as against the commercial immunity of a country, reiterating that there was no concession whatsoever made as it concerns Nigeria’s nationhood

    Malami clarified that diplomatic immunity has to do with the nation’s sovereignty and corporate existence while commercial immunity is more of commitment to ensure repayment of loans.

    The AGF added that “the clause was a mere guarantee, a commitment that allows an advancing state (the lender) the powers to claim back an asset for the purpose of repayment of a loan and is in no way, connected to the sovereignty of a country”.

    On his part, Amaechi stated: “Nobody has signed out anything. A sovereign nation is a sovereign nation. Nobody can recolonise us. We must learn to pay our debts and we are paying”.
    Also speaking on the subject, a prominent human rights lawyer and social activist, Femi Falana accused the National Assembly of a deliberate attempt to “confuse and mislead Nigerians”. He noted that nobody has traded up the sovereign rights of Nigeria as the clause is standard in international commercial agreement.
    “What the clause is, is a standard one. In other words, every nation has the sovereign immunity not to be dragged to any Court of Arbitration but if you have taken a loan, it is a standard agreement that if you default in the payment of the loan, you cannot invoke your sovereignty to prevent me from going to Court of Arbitration. No more no less, it has nothing to do with trading up the sovereignty of Nigeria” he said.
    Evidently, Hon. Nicholas Ossai and his Committee went on a journey of folly which invariably led to an unnecessary public hysteria.
    This raises a lot of questions by itself on the preparedness of members of the National Assembly to be able to undertake serious national assignment without trivialisation and making a joke of themselves in the eyes of international observers. That lawmakers in charge of a treaty committee do not understand the difference between diplomatic sovereignty and waiver of sovereignty in a commercial loan agreement amounts to national shame.
    Questions should also be asked about the National Assembly itself. Does it have a functional research unit? Does the research unit provides support to Committees of the National Assembly? It stands to reason that if the House Committee had done proper evaluation backed by background research and inputs by experts this national embarrassment would have been avoided.
    The business of lawmaking and oversight of the Executive is a serious constitutional duty which the lawmakers should not trivialise by any standard, we expect that as Honourables and lawmakers they should do their homework properly before coming to the public to make pronouncements.

  • CPC always puts people above everything else

    CPC always puts people above everything else

    By People’s Daily
    At the critical moment when China aims to secure a decisive victory in building a moderately
    prosperous society in all respects and eliminate poverty, the Communist Party of China (CPC)
    celebrated the 99th anniversary of its founding on July 1.
    For a party that fights for the eternal wellbeing of the Chinese nation, the centenary only ushers in
    its prime of life.
    With greater faith, conviction and confidence, all Party members are walking in a Long March of
    the new era, overcoming challenges with great courage and seizing every day to strive for great
    undertakings.
    The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 is a special witnessed to the remarkable performance of the
    CPC. Facing the epidemic, China has waged a resolute and all-out people’s war against the virus.
    Under the strong leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core,
    the Chinese people have made major strategic achievements in their response to the virus through
    concerted efforts and tremendous sacrifice.
    Such great practice spoke volumes for the marked political advantages of the CPC’s leadership
    and China’s socialist system, and the Party’s lofty philosophy of serving the people at all costs. It
    also showed the political character of the communists who stay true to the Party’s founding
    mission and have the courage to shoulder responsibilities. Besides, it demonstrated the
    monumental force unleashed when the Party and all Chinese people were united, and revealed that
    the CPC, a large party, has always been vital during its near century-long journey.
    Facing the storms in the course of China’s revolution, construction and reform, the CPC remains
    unchanged in its original aspiration and mission to seek happiness for the Chinese people and
    rejuvenation for the Chinese nation.
    Rather than seeking political interests of its own, the Party always gives top priority to the
    interests of the people. This is what distinguishes the CPC, a Marxist political party, from other
    political parties.
    Since its founding, the CPC, relying closely on the Chinese people, has surmounted numerous
    obstacles and accomplished monumental achievements that have gone down in the history of the
    Chinese nation. It has helped China realize a tremendous transformation: the country has stood up,
    grown rich and is becoming stronger.
    The CPC has braved thorny paths over the past 99 years and completed an extraordinary journey
    with unremitting endeavors. It is the people that have given life and prosperity to the Party, and
    the people are the Party’s foundation, lifeblood and strength, enabling it to move forward against
    all risks and challenges, from one victory to another.
    “Only by remaining true to our original aspiration, keeping our mission firmly in mind, and
    keeping on striving, could the Party stay young and live,” said Xi, General Secretary of the CPC
    Central Committee.
    Some moments are always vital for the development of history. For China, the year 2020 is
    characterized by standing at the conjunction point of the two centenary goals. Having withstood
    the test of the COVID-19 epidemic, the Chinese people are making the final push for attaining the
    first centenary goal – the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, an aspiration

    of the Chinese nation throughout centuries. This will be a milestone in the process of realizing
    national rejuvenation.
    Based on this achievement, China will also embark on a new journey toward the second centenary
    goal of building a modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally
    advanced and harmonious.
    Both domestic and international development environments are facing more complicated and
    severe challenges, which calls on the world to foster new opportunities in crises and create new
    prospects amid changes.
    Only by continuing to follow a philosophy of people-centered development, putting the people
    above everything else, relying closely on them, and delivering benefits to them can the Party
    surmount all the obstacles and usher in a bright future.
    “To secure a better life for the people is what we aim to achieve in everything we do,” Xi said.
    Efforts must be made by the CPC to normalize epidemic prevention and control and ensure
    people’s health and safety, crack the “hardest nut” of extreme poverty to sustain high-quality
    poverty alleviation and promote economic and social development to meet the people’s ever-
    growing needs for a better life.
    All Party members need to have a clear understanding of major policies and strategies of the
    country and the Party, and regard the benefit of the people as their greatest political achievement.
    They should firmly implement the tasks of keeping employment, the financial sector, foreign
    trade, foreign and domestic investments, and expectations stable and ensuring security in job,
    basic living needs, operations of market entities, food and energy security, stable industrial and
    supply chains, and the normal functioning of primary-level governments and guarantee that the
    CPC Central Committee’s decisions and arrangements will be firmly put into practice.
    Meanwhile, the Party members should keep in mind both the domestic and international
    situations, have a stronger sense of responsibility, respond to the people’s needs, worries and
    difficulties, always remain true to their aspiration, and work in concert with the people, so as to
    ensure that the 1.4 billion Chinese people can live a prosperous life.
    Socialism and happiness are achieved through concrete action and hard work. The Party has led
    the people in accomplishing missions that seemed impossible and creating miracle upon miracle
    through painstaking efforts.
    To achieve poverty elimination, build a well-off society and create a brighter future calls for the
    hard work of the people. Despite the difficulties and obstacles the CPC may face on the road
    ahead and in the process of development, it must remain committed to upholding the principal
    position of the people in the country and showing respect for the creativity of the people. Besides,
    the Party should unite and lead the people to work harder and forge ahead, and rely on them to
    create new and even greater miracles.
    Halfway to achieving its two centenary goals, China must race against time and keep up with the
    time.
    Rallying more closely around the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at the core,
    the Party members need to enhance their consciousness of maintaining political integrity, thinking
    in big-picture terms, following the leadership core, and keeping in alignment with the central Party
    leadership, have confidence in the socialist path, theory, system and culture, and resolutely uphold
    Xi Jinping’s core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the whole Party and uphold the
    authority of the CPC Central Committee and its centralized and unified leadership.
    Remaining committed to putting the people front and center, they should also seize the time, and
    strive to write a more brilliant chapter in the Long March of the new era and make outstanding

    achievements that can win the recognition of the people and stand up to the test of history.

  • Chinese Medical Team: A Needless Controversy

    Chinese Medical Team: A Needless Controversy

    The coming of the so called Chinese doctors or more appropriately Chinese medical team into Nigeria has elicited much interest among many Nigerians not for any inherent reason of value but clearly out of mischief, parody and entertainment.

    We recall that on Wednesday April 8, 2020 the CCECC as part of what it described as Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) took delivery of a plane load of medical supplies from China to assist the Federal Government combat the COVID-19 pandemic. The supplies were escorted by a 15 member team of Chinese medical experts.

    While not much is said about the donation, the Chinese medical team have come under a lot of fire especially from the Nigeria Medical Association, (NMA) who saw the visit of the medical team as an affront on Nigerian doctors who were putting their lives on the line to combat the coronavirus without any support from government.

    The NMA in its initial statement believed the team was invited by the Federal Government and paid for in “hard currency” to come care for COVID-19 patients while their Nigerian counterpart were hardly paid hazard allowance or given PPE equipment.

    Irrespective of the fact that the CCECC, the company on whose behest the medical team is in Nigeria has on three different occasion issued statements clarifying the presence of the medical team in  Nigeria and their mission conspiracy theorists would rather not  accept the explanation but believe in myth and spins.

    Popular among which is that they came to spread COVID-19, or that they came to care for COVID-19 patients in Nigeria or that they came to care for a popular and high ranking government official who later died of COVID-19 or that they are technicians who came to secretly install 5G network in the country.

    The obsession and persistence of the enquiries is probably what angered the Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, who out of frustration lashed out at some journalists at the briefing were losing focus and pursuing inanities in the face of a ravaging pandemic. In response to media enquiries he said: “There seems to be a lot of interest in these doctors I’d be happy if you don’t ask me where they are”

    The media interpreted this to mean that the visiting medical team was missing since the minister himself seems to be saying he was not aware of where they were.

    The Health Minister, obviously displayed an inability for anger management by his response, he gave ammunition to the media who find stories of this nature of high “infotainment” value and have since seized on it for parody and entertainment while the principal fight against the COVID-19 has been relegated to the background.

    Caught in the crossfire, the Managing Director of the CCECC, Micheal Jiang granted several press interviews and issued a press statement to clarify that the Chinese medical team are its guest and under its care. The statement also said that the team have achieved its mandate of helping in the installation of medical equipment at the ThisDay Dome isolation centre and consulting with Nigerian doctors through teleconferencing and would be returning to their home country after the restoration of normal air services.

    However, this did not abate the debates and controversy, as the media thereafter went into enquiring into the duration of their visas and whether they have exceeded their visas.

    Nigeria is not the only country that has received free medical donation and a medical team from China to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic, other countries in Africa either through company CSR or directly from the Chinese government have been and are still receiving similar donations. These nations have shown gratitude for the donation and some have even asked for more help in other areas to help stamp out the disease in their countries.

    Nigeria’s attitude so far demonstrates that even in the face of a ravaging pandemic that is claiming human lives and creating uncertainties we can afford to play politics. With the way many have denounced the donations even when the government cannot provide alternatives, which other country or company in its right senses would ever offer to give us help in any form in future?

    We believe that the controversy surrounding the visit of the Chinese medical team is needless and the attempt to use it to score cheap political gain was taking politics too far.

  • Taiwan’s independence demands during COVID-19 war unhelpful

    Taiwan’s independence demands during COVID-19 war unhelpful

    Should Taiwan be seeking membership of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in the period of the COVID-19 crisis as a sovereign state from China?

    Taiwan, a province of 23 million people, adopts much of Western ideas of government. The Japanese occupied territory was returned to China in 1945 after the Japanese surrender to Western powers after World War II.

    Taiwan, by it’s people and culture, is predominantly Mandarin Chinese. The One-Country-Two Systems Policy in China clearly gives room for all satellites of China such as Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan to continue with their preferred government systems and accomplish their full potentials.

    In Nigeria and some other nations, despite being highly diverse, this kind of policy is not accommodated in the constitution. The over-centralisation has hindered Nigeria’s growth and prosperity. This is not the case in China.

    This period of Coronavirus war requires greater international cooperation and mutual assistance, not division and separation.

  • Mallam Abba Kyari (1952-2020) one death many posers

    Mallam Abba Kyari (1952-2020) one death many posers

    The Chief of Staff to President Muhammadu Buhari, Mallam Abba Kyari, who passed away on Saturday April 18, 2020 as a result of complications arising from the coronavirus has become the highest public officer to succumb to the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

    While we join the rest of the nation to mourn the death of one of our most illustrious sons and the engine room of the Buhari administration, we however note with concerns the way and manner his case was handle right from when an online newspaper, Sahara Reporters broke the news of his testing positive to the virus to his death and burial at Gudu cemetery in Abuja over the weekend.

    Government barefaced contempt for its own rules and regulations on the management of Covid-19 patients; the unnecessary secrecy and utter disdain and disregard for procedures in the handling of Covid-19 corpse and exposing the lives of several others to risk are worrisome.

    What we have witnessed since March 24 when Kyari tested positive to the virus has been nothing short of double standards in the application of the rules, by government, the NCDC and the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Covid-19. It has been one set of rules for the ordinary citizens and another set of rules for the politically connected, the usual Nigerian way. They still fail to realise that Covid=19 knows no rich or poor, the politically connected or those that straddles the corridors of power.

    The late CoS tested positive to the disease on March 24 after visits to Germany and Egypt. Reports have it that on his return from these highly pandemic areas he refused to self-isolate, which is the standard government requirement. He continued to mingle with people spreading the virus, until he came down with serious symptoms of the disease.

    Even after testing positive, Kyari still refused to make his status public until the story was broken by Sahara Reporters. Also as against standard regulation as rolled out by government on the management of Covid-19 cases, Kyari checked himself into a private hospital.

    No one called him to order! Kyari missed the opportunity to demonstrate to the rest of Nigerians the seriousness of the situation and set the right example that we are in a crisis situation that requires the cooperation of all no matter how highly placed. He carried on, business as usual.

    In all, the Presidential Task Force, (PTF) should also be held to account. It broke its own rule to cover an individual and put the lives of millions at risk. It kept saying a ‘presidential aide’, avoiding to name the Presidential aid.

    Even after his cover was blown by Sahara Reporters, Kyari said he had made private arrangements to be managed in Lagos, no one questioned his decision which was against government’s own regulations that barred private hospitals from treating Covid-19 patients or risk been shut down.

    He checked into a private hospital and the PTF conveniently looked the other way. Why wasn’t Kyari cared for in an isolation centre like every other Nigerians stricken with Covid-19?
    What should happen to the management of the hospital for violating government directives?
    Why was the name of the hospital shrouded in secrecy, thereby putting the workers in the hospital and visitors at risk who may not know that a Covid-19 case was within their premises?
    Has the federal government rescinded its order that private hospitals should not manage Covid-19 cases?
    If truly the hospital in question was accredited to manage Covid-19 cases why was the announcement made retroactively after public outcry?

    Was this show of power and secrecy necessary at a moment of national health crisis?

    Why was his body released for burial when those of others were not?

    Why can’s all of us come together as a nation for once to fight what ails us all?

    By this very act are we not encouraging others especially highly placed politicians to go into hiding and seek personal arrangement to management themselves if they should come down with Ciovid-19?

    These are posers that places a moral burden on the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19.

    Perhaps of most concern to many Nigerians is how the corpse of the late Abba Kyari was handled before his final interment.

    The large crowd of sympathises who
    mingled freely inspite of the social distancing rule, the viral video on how a pallbearer carelessly disposed his PPE, raises a lot of questions and our seriousness in handling this pandemic.

    Must worrisome is the fact that even the Head of the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19, Boss Mustapha, was at the burial grounds, mixing freely disregarding the rules he daily dishes out to Nigerians.

    Are we going to continue like this? Are we serious at all in this country or do we still see this as a joke?

    Are we waiting for the dare prediction about, “dead bodies on the streets of African countries” including Nigeria before we wake up from our slumber?

    Surely Kayri’s death in the hands of Covid-19 raises a lot of posers on how we have managed and mismanaged the coronavirus pandemic so far. There have been no seriousness, it has mostly been mere talk and daily briefings by the PTF with no concomitant action.

    There is danger ahead if we continue on this path. Government must wake up from its present lethargy and provide coordinated leadership in the management of this pandemic.

    The PTF as presently constitute is not working and should disbanded, and a more focused and professionally constituted body backed by the full powers of the federal government inaugurated to take charge of this pandemic.