By
Joachim Ezeji
As the rampaging menace of kidnapping continues to ravage the south-eastern part of Nigeria, one man who towers shoulders above his contemporaries in confronting the menace by speaking out is HRH Eze Desmond Ogugua, the traditional ruler of Eziudo autonomous community in Ezinihite Mbaise Local Government Area. After reading his story in a recent SUN Newspaper weekend edition I made up my mind to re-echo his voice by devoting this column to him. He is a man of courage.
If every octogenarian in present day Nigeria is to tell the raw truth at all occasions, then, Nigeria will surely be a much better place. Sadly, in Nigeria today, while many so called old men are keeping quiet as evil thrives, some are simply part of it. In reaction to a recent ugly incident of kidnapping in his community, HRH has had the opportunity to say the truth as it is, and I hope the government of Imo State led by Ikedi Ohakim heard him. The governor must take the message very seriously.
Eze Ogugua emphatically holds the view that there are two reasons kidnap has become a scourge among our people. He says that one is political, and the other is economic. He argues that the poverty created by the government through neglect in communities has made some idle and evil minded youths to resort to kidnapping as means of making themselves heard and as a weapon of retaliation to society for abandoning them.
According to him, the result is the proliferation of the art as even robbers have diverted their art to kidnap for better returns. Eze Oguguo pointed out that in the beginning; government didn’t take the issue serious until it developed into this bigger problem. He also argues that the police have not been equipped to handle the kidnap problem; insisting that that there is no way that you can climb the iroko tree without a rope. In his words “Police can’t chase kidnappers who are more sophisticated in arms out of town with just their bare hands.”
Arguing further, Eze Ogugua explained that politicians are a remote cause of kidnapping. He argued that the kidnappers are youths the politicians used in their desperation to win elections; and , in his own words; “Today, these armed men the politicians gave birth to have turned the arms against unsuspecting persons in the society, including the same politicians. I am sure they must have found out that they sired a clan of hoodlums they can no longer control. The horde of hooligans they created have gone out of control and turned terror on all of us”.
HRH Eze Oguguo then recalled an ugly incident of kidnapping in his community: “I have a good instance at hand on a kidnap that took place in my community on July 27, 2009. I was overseas for medical attention when the incident occurred. When I came back four months later, not much had been done by the police who literally left the matter unattended to. The victim had neither been found nor his condition known talk less of identifying the kidnappers”.
He continued: “The victim was Pius Onyeremadu. After his kidnap, a report was made at the police station. When I came back, I summoned the community leaders to tackle the abomination. In the course of the interrogation of some people, I suspected two persons who I later handed over to the police for further investigation. The police in Alagbon, Lagos, were later invited and CID from there interrogated the suspects who confessed to the act and named nine others who were part of it, including the owner of a dangerous hotel in the town”. According to the Monarch, it was in that dangerous hotel the victim, Onyeremadu, was kept with a signpost on the rooms where he was barring people from coming closer there. The nine persons were later arrested and taken into custody by the police while they continued with investigation during which it was found that the victim died on August 20, 2009, barely a month after he was abducted.
By the time Eze Ogugua returned in November, his community devised several means to track down the kidnappers and possibly release their victim not knowing he had died. One of their strategies was community prayer sessions. They assembled at village squares in all the villages of the Eziudo community and prayed that God should apprehend the kidnappers. Ironically, the suspects were part of the prayers. They joined as the prayer train moved from one village to the other. As the prayer leaders voiced their petition to heaven, they all joined to chorus a loud amen.
Unknown to them, prayers get answers, and as they unknowingly prayed against themselves to be caught and exposed, so they were later caught. Indeed, they were later caught and in their confession had told the police that they dumped the body of the victim in Imo River after he died in their custody. But when they were taken to the river with divers, they recapitulated on the earlier confession and accepted to say the truth on where the body was discarded.
They asked the police to take them back to the community that the man’s body was stuffed inside a soak-away pit in church premises in Eziudo. As they got there, this time, their tale was right. They pointed at the cesspit that has not been in use for sometime in the premises. The police commenced a dig of the pit. A video recording of the expedition showed four policemen from Alagbon cracking the concrete slab on the pit with pickaxe to make it wide enough for someone to climb in and confirm the testimony. The man’s remains were squeezed into the pit via a little gap and the smaller slab replaced.
As the police gained access into the pit, they beckoned on the villagers to come closer and see the man’s bones littered all over the place. His dress was first picked up from the moist earth and shown to family members who confirmed it was his. Painstakingly, the policemen harvested Onyeremadu’s bones like in Ezekiel’s vision in a yellow polyethene bag. With that they climbed off, displayed the odd specimen before the people before taking them away as exhibit and for forensic analysis after which they would be released to the family. Since the investigating police came from Alagbon, the suspects were taken to Lagos for proper interrogation and investigation, after which they were brought back to Owerri for trial.
Eze Ogugua in this story revealed that his community is defraying the cost of everything that has been done so far on behalf of the community; yet, the police are asking the community to defray the forensic analysis of the bones at a cost of N250, 000 before that could be handled. In his words, he lamented “The problem has cost us much money, and it is not yet over”.
Curiously, neither the government nor the police are helping the community to defray the enormous costs involved in exercise of this nature. Cases of this nature have become goldmine for police officers as they see it as opportunities to make money. Why should communities be left to defray the entire cost of security incidents of this nature? What is Governor Ohakim doing with the colossal security funds he allocates to himself every year? Incidents of this nature are often the purpose of security votes. I therefore use this medium to call on the Imo State Government to quickly refund all expenses incurred by the community without any further delay. This is the only effective way to encourage and motivate people and their communities as otherwise dispirits them.
Also, a pathway should be created to couple the security vote of the governor to the security issues in the dispersed communities. Such coupling will enable communities to handle what is required to uphold peace through their Chiefs and local vigilante bodies. Eze Oguguo had recalled “I know how much I have spent in organizing security groups, summoning meetings of elders and youths and assisting the police in its efforts so far”. He continued “If a monarch has no money, he can’t handle this and things will get worse”. That is true!
I hope the Governor is reading this piece, if not let his aids take this piece and show him. The gospel truth as told by HRH Eze Oguguo is that the society can’t effectively tackle kidnapping and other dangerous crimes without the cooperation of the local leaders in the communities. To do this the government must be fair and transparent, using public funds for the public, not otherwise.
Despite the fact that government collects a lot of revenue and maintains enormous resources, what else is stopping government from extending appropriate support to local communities? It is a sad revelation, but it takes courage to say it.
HRH Eze Desmond Oguguo had revealed and I quote him “Government (both state and local government) has never assisted my community in any way in this ugly incident. It has been my people and the police. I would solicit the support of the government for traditional rulers and community leaders in this wise.”
What a tale!
Saturday, 18 September 2010
Saturday, 28 August 2010
By
Joachim Ezeji
One governor in the current political dispensation in Nigeria that radiates high level mediocrity and ineptitude is the Abia Governor, Mr. Theodore Orji. Events in recent times portray this governor as a man who is very much unfit to remain a day longer in office in whatever capacity. I will rather suggest that the man deserves to be in jail for wasting the time and resources of Abia State.I would have preferred to refer to him as a well fortified fool sake for decency. The man possibly thinks that the rest of Abians’ are as foolish as himself. In civilized societies Mr Orji would have immediately resigned upon the revelation he made recently. While addressing the new commissioners he appointed in Umuahia recently, the Governor had described the ceremony as a crucial chapter in the life of the government and another step towards the consolidation of the government.He had also said that with the liberation of the state from political bondage, what they now have in the state was government of the people, for the people and by the people, and urged the new commissioners to work hard as the state was in a hurry to develop. He unequivocally stated that he was now in full control of the affairs of the state; saying that if it were in the past, all the commissioners would have been handed over to him from certain quarters. What a revelation! Prior to that event Mr. Theodore Orji had dissolved his cabinet which was reconstituted just about one year ago. The dissolution affected all commissioners and all other political appointees such as Special Advisers and Personal Advisers, including about 300 advisers that were appointed in May. Political observers in the state saw the action of Governor Orji as a step towards freeing himself from the alleged stronghold of former governor Kalu and his mother who had been having huge influence in the governance of the state since he came to power. But at what cost, who lost? Abians of course! And shortly after dissolving his cabinet, the governor quit his original party for the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Speaking to newsmen in Umuahia, his aide on Print Media, Mr Joshua Ogbonna, had said the governor left the People Progressive Alliance, (PPA) as a result of the irreconcilable and crises that have bedeviled the party in recent times.The climax was that on July 2, the leadership of the party led by DIM Odimegwu Ojukwu, Peter Obi and National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh, all gathered in Umuahia to receive Governor Orji into their party. According to Mr. Joshua Ogbonna….. “Since they have made the party uncomfortable for him, he had no choice but to find solace in a more disciplined focused and people-oriented party which is APGA.Yet again, within a few weeks, the same man did quit APGA for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In doing so, he rubbished the personalities that graced his return to APGA on the previous occasion such as DIM Odimegwu Ojukwu. What we hear now is that the move was proper in order to realign Abia to national politics and optimize political benefits for the state. Some loyalists of the governor are also using every opportunity to blast our eyes on the need to keep Abia on the mainstream of national politics.Nevertheless one thing that is clear from this macabre dance is the desperation to remain in power at all cost, and this is irrespective of the wishes of the people. Governor Orji and his loyalist are fanatically inclined to the PDP ballot rigging machine and are hopeful of benefiting from there. The desperation to still remain in office despite woeful performance as governor is largely responsible for this so-called return to the PDP.This is synonymous with events in Imo State, two years ago when Mr. Ikedi Ohakim quit the PPA for the PDP. The same reasons adduced in Abia were also adduced in Imo. On both occasions, people of these two states were told that this was the only way to facilitate the actualization of the Igbo presidency. But these are fairy tales, good only for gullible minds as they need to be reminded that Igbo presidency can never be possible in an environment dominated by political underachievers and harlots whose only guaranty to victory is ballot fraud and judicial merchandise.I have never really taken Governor Orji serious because I had always seen him and his brother- governor Ikedi Ohakim as backwater governors who came into office through the back door without any iota of public scrutiny. Their coming to power was a catastrophic accident that took all and sundry by surprise. No sane political mind ever imagined that it could happen in the 21st century Nigeria. But it did, and we are collectively paying the high price.My consolation however, is the lessons to be learnt from this accident. One of them is the fact that the defection of these governors is a showcase of the nature of their characters, affiliations and backgrounds. And these consist of greed, avarice, lust and poverty of morality. On the surface one may query what actually took them to PPA in the first instance? And what level of relationship they did have with Orji Ozor Kalu the founder of PPA prior to and before defection? For Mr. Theodore Orji, one may also want to know why he defected to and quit APGA within a few weeks. An analysis of these questions will reveal these men as birds of the same feather that needs isolation from the civilized world. Behind the veil of government authority are politically amorphous men, enormously lacking in character, morality, genuine followership and social capital.Another lesson to be learnt is that as the Igbo nation remain hopeful of Igbo presidency, characters to look up to are those similar to, and proportional to those of the likes of Mr. Peter Obi of Anambra State. Governor Peter Obi understands very much how he came to power and has to a large extent lived up to the expectations of his people. His actions have facilitated enormous goodwill for him and his party in Anambra State which subsequently ensured his re-election as governor last year. He did not need defection to achieve re-election. To Peter Obi what should really matter while in political office is performance, not jumping around and making bizarre confessions without genuine atonement as we currently witness in Abia. Do Governors Fashola, Oshiomole and Mimiko need any defection to secure re-election? What then is actually the problem with these Igbo governors other than gullibility? Again, the PDP as a party in self denial is again in big dilemma as the events of 2011 unfolds. It has to subject itself to real democratic ethos which includes making the political field open, free and fair to all contestants. By this, it has to contend with organizing fair and free primaries as well as subjecting itself to free and fair national and state elections thereafter. But can this be possible with all these compromises here and there particularly with the influx of non- performing Governors Orji and Ohakim defecting to its fold?I am of the strong opinion that the likes of Governor Theodore Orji should out rightly be disqualified from presenting himself for re-election under any political platform, the PDP inclusive, based on his recent confessions that his government since 2007 has been serving the personal interests of himself and those of his godfather – Orji Uzor Kalu. The implication of those revelations are damning as it shows to the extent Abia State has been short-changed in the past 36 months. Well meaning Abia citizens should stand up and throw their gauntlet into the 2011 race and get this inferior man unelected as he attempts to re-present himself for the 2011 elections. Please fellow Abians’ let’s put a stop to this cascading stupidity.
Abia Kwenu!
Joachim Ezeji
One governor in the current political dispensation in Nigeria that radiates high level mediocrity and ineptitude is the Abia Governor, Mr. Theodore Orji. Events in recent times portray this governor as a man who is very much unfit to remain a day longer in office in whatever capacity. I will rather suggest that the man deserves to be in jail for wasting the time and resources of Abia State.I would have preferred to refer to him as a well fortified fool sake for decency. The man possibly thinks that the rest of Abians’ are as foolish as himself. In civilized societies Mr Orji would have immediately resigned upon the revelation he made recently. While addressing the new commissioners he appointed in Umuahia recently, the Governor had described the ceremony as a crucial chapter in the life of the government and another step towards the consolidation of the government.He had also said that with the liberation of the state from political bondage, what they now have in the state was government of the people, for the people and by the people, and urged the new commissioners to work hard as the state was in a hurry to develop. He unequivocally stated that he was now in full control of the affairs of the state; saying that if it were in the past, all the commissioners would have been handed over to him from certain quarters. What a revelation! Prior to that event Mr. Theodore Orji had dissolved his cabinet which was reconstituted just about one year ago. The dissolution affected all commissioners and all other political appointees such as Special Advisers and Personal Advisers, including about 300 advisers that were appointed in May. Political observers in the state saw the action of Governor Orji as a step towards freeing himself from the alleged stronghold of former governor Kalu and his mother who had been having huge influence in the governance of the state since he came to power. But at what cost, who lost? Abians of course! And shortly after dissolving his cabinet, the governor quit his original party for the All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA). Speaking to newsmen in Umuahia, his aide on Print Media, Mr Joshua Ogbonna, had said the governor left the People Progressive Alliance, (PPA) as a result of the irreconcilable and crises that have bedeviled the party in recent times.The climax was that on July 2, the leadership of the party led by DIM Odimegwu Ojukwu, Peter Obi and National Chairman of the party, Chief Victor Umeh, all gathered in Umuahia to receive Governor Orji into their party. According to Mr. Joshua Ogbonna….. “Since they have made the party uncomfortable for him, he had no choice but to find solace in a more disciplined focused and people-oriented party which is APGA.Yet again, within a few weeks, the same man did quit APGA for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In doing so, he rubbished the personalities that graced his return to APGA on the previous occasion such as DIM Odimegwu Ojukwu. What we hear now is that the move was proper in order to realign Abia to national politics and optimize political benefits for the state. Some loyalists of the governor are also using every opportunity to blast our eyes on the need to keep Abia on the mainstream of national politics.Nevertheless one thing that is clear from this macabre dance is the desperation to remain in power at all cost, and this is irrespective of the wishes of the people. Governor Orji and his loyalist are fanatically inclined to the PDP ballot rigging machine and are hopeful of benefiting from there. The desperation to still remain in office despite woeful performance as governor is largely responsible for this so-called return to the PDP.This is synonymous with events in Imo State, two years ago when Mr. Ikedi Ohakim quit the PPA for the PDP. The same reasons adduced in Abia were also adduced in Imo. On both occasions, people of these two states were told that this was the only way to facilitate the actualization of the Igbo presidency. But these are fairy tales, good only for gullible minds as they need to be reminded that Igbo presidency can never be possible in an environment dominated by political underachievers and harlots whose only guaranty to victory is ballot fraud and judicial merchandise.I have never really taken Governor Orji serious because I had always seen him and his brother- governor Ikedi Ohakim as backwater governors who came into office through the back door without any iota of public scrutiny. Their coming to power was a catastrophic accident that took all and sundry by surprise. No sane political mind ever imagined that it could happen in the 21st century Nigeria. But it did, and we are collectively paying the high price.My consolation however, is the lessons to be learnt from this accident. One of them is the fact that the defection of these governors is a showcase of the nature of their characters, affiliations and backgrounds. And these consist of greed, avarice, lust and poverty of morality. On the surface one may query what actually took them to PPA in the first instance? And what level of relationship they did have with Orji Ozor Kalu the founder of PPA prior to and before defection? For Mr. Theodore Orji, one may also want to know why he defected to and quit APGA within a few weeks. An analysis of these questions will reveal these men as birds of the same feather that needs isolation from the civilized world. Behind the veil of government authority are politically amorphous men, enormously lacking in character, morality, genuine followership and social capital.Another lesson to be learnt is that as the Igbo nation remain hopeful of Igbo presidency, characters to look up to are those similar to, and proportional to those of the likes of Mr. Peter Obi of Anambra State. Governor Peter Obi understands very much how he came to power and has to a large extent lived up to the expectations of his people. His actions have facilitated enormous goodwill for him and his party in Anambra State which subsequently ensured his re-election as governor last year. He did not need defection to achieve re-election. To Peter Obi what should really matter while in political office is performance, not jumping around and making bizarre confessions without genuine atonement as we currently witness in Abia. Do Governors Fashola, Oshiomole and Mimiko need any defection to secure re-election? What then is actually the problem with these Igbo governors other than gullibility? Again, the PDP as a party in self denial is again in big dilemma as the events of 2011 unfolds. It has to subject itself to real democratic ethos which includes making the political field open, free and fair to all contestants. By this, it has to contend with organizing fair and free primaries as well as subjecting itself to free and fair national and state elections thereafter. But can this be possible with all these compromises here and there particularly with the influx of non- performing Governors Orji and Ohakim defecting to its fold?I am of the strong opinion that the likes of Governor Theodore Orji should out rightly be disqualified from presenting himself for re-election under any political platform, the PDP inclusive, based on his recent confessions that his government since 2007 has been serving the personal interests of himself and those of his godfather – Orji Uzor Kalu. The implication of those revelations are damning as it shows to the extent Abia State has been short-changed in the past 36 months. Well meaning Abia citizens should stand up and throw their gauntlet into the 2011 race and get this inferior man unelected as he attempts to re-present himself for the 2011 elections. Please fellow Abians’ let’s put a stop to this cascading stupidity.
Abia Kwenu!
Tuesday, 3 August 2010
Case studies of outright looting of public funds in Nigeria (1)
N400m cash in septic tank
•Opposition groups demand probe of Bayelsa sanitation agency
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/02/national-02-08-2010-003.htm
Opposition parties and civil society groups in Bayelsa State have demanded a probe into the alleged disappearance of over N400 million at the country home of the Chairman of the Environment Sanitation Authority, Mr. Reginald Dede. The robbery, which reportedly took place penultimate week at Kongo community, Akassa, Brass Local Government Area of the state was carried out by boys who were armed to the teeth. Eyewitness account said when the boys got to Dede’s house, they headed straight to the septic tank where they discovered both hard and local currencies. After the robbery, some people were said to have been arrested by the police. An impeccable police source confided in Daily Sun that those arrested by the police in connection with the robbery were still undergoing interrogation. However, opposition parties and civil society groups are calling on the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Presidency to investigate the matter to determine where Dede got such huge money.In separate statements, National Union of Political Parties (NUPP), Political Alliance for Good Governance (PAGG) and the Action Congress (AC) said the Federal Government should demonstrate its sincerity to fight corruption by probing the incident. NUPP, in its statement signed by Mr. Edwin Tare and Ekiye Maxwell, chairman and secretary respectively carpeted Dede saying since he assumed office as chairman of the agency, “wages of sanitation workers have been stunted,” adding that “workers sometimes would not be paid for three or four months.” It said the state government had never been serious with the welfare of the workers who were mostly women. Bobo Atari-Adou, publicity secretary of PAGG, in its statement, said the group noted with disbelief that such huge money could be hidden in a septic tank when workers of the sanitation authority were being owed six months salaries. It called on President Goodluck Jonathan to listen to the voice of reason and direct a probe into alleged financial recklessness in the state. The AC, in its statement, endorsed by its Chairman, Miriki Ebikibina challenged Governor Timipre Sylva and the state House of Assembly to investigate the matter and sanction Dede if found guilty to serve as a deterrent to other government officials who believed cases of corruption could be treated with levity. The state Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mr. Nathan Egba, however denied knowledge of the incident, stressing that it was a personal matter which only Dede could comment on. When approached for his comments at the Governor’s Lodge in Yenagoa, Dede declined, declaring that he did not want to talk about the incident. Meanwhile, political leaders in Sagbama have risen in defence of the council Chairman, Mr. Perez Peretus over allegation of corruption and high-handedness levelled against him. Peretus who has been in the eye of the storm following his disagreement with a top government functionary has been accused of massive fraud and securing a loan facility for the council without authorisation. In a statement by the Secretary of the council on behalf of the leaders, Mr. Mirin Johnson, the leaders noted that the council took the loan of N45 million for the payment of April salaries due to the shortfall in the allocation that accrued to the council from the federation account. According to the leaders, the loan which was with the full knowledge of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was used for a purpose which the people could attest to. The leaders commended Peretus for engaging in the settlement of debts incurred by past administrations, the provision of internet facility, the launch of a functional website for the council, the overhauling of electrical systems in Sagbama town, the purchase of five plots of land in Yenagoa to construct a befitting ultramodern liaison office complex with a view to generating revenue and the ongoing construction of a new office building. While noting that the “claim of fraud against the council chairman is a deliberate crusade by some politicians against the rising profile of the council chairman” they stressed that “investigation conducted on the charges of fraud, high-handedness and fanning ember of division among clans against the council chairman showed that they were false and only exist in the imagination of the opposition.”
Note: Bayelsa State is a major revenue earner from Nigeria’s huge oil and gas Federal Allocation. It is one of the richest states in Nigeria, but outright looting of public funds persists in the midst of pressing needs and poverty.
•Opposition groups demand probe of Bayelsa sanitation agency
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/02/national-02-08-2010-003.htm
Opposition parties and civil society groups in Bayelsa State have demanded a probe into the alleged disappearance of over N400 million at the country home of the Chairman of the Environment Sanitation Authority, Mr. Reginald Dede. The robbery, which reportedly took place penultimate week at Kongo community, Akassa, Brass Local Government Area of the state was carried out by boys who were armed to the teeth. Eyewitness account said when the boys got to Dede’s house, they headed straight to the septic tank where they discovered both hard and local currencies. After the robbery, some people were said to have been arrested by the police. An impeccable police source confided in Daily Sun that those arrested by the police in connection with the robbery were still undergoing interrogation. However, opposition parties and civil society groups are calling on the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Presidency to investigate the matter to determine where Dede got such huge money.In separate statements, National Union of Political Parties (NUPP), Political Alliance for Good Governance (PAGG) and the Action Congress (AC) said the Federal Government should demonstrate its sincerity to fight corruption by probing the incident. NUPP, in its statement signed by Mr. Edwin Tare and Ekiye Maxwell, chairman and secretary respectively carpeted Dede saying since he assumed office as chairman of the agency, “wages of sanitation workers have been stunted,” adding that “workers sometimes would not be paid for three or four months.” It said the state government had never been serious with the welfare of the workers who were mostly women. Bobo Atari-Adou, publicity secretary of PAGG, in its statement, said the group noted with disbelief that such huge money could be hidden in a septic tank when workers of the sanitation authority were being owed six months salaries. It called on President Goodluck Jonathan to listen to the voice of reason and direct a probe into alleged financial recklessness in the state. The AC, in its statement, endorsed by its Chairman, Miriki Ebikibina challenged Governor Timipre Sylva and the state House of Assembly to investigate the matter and sanction Dede if found guilty to serve as a deterrent to other government officials who believed cases of corruption could be treated with levity. The state Commissioner for Information, Orientation and Strategy, Mr. Nathan Egba, however denied knowledge of the incident, stressing that it was a personal matter which only Dede could comment on. When approached for his comments at the Governor’s Lodge in Yenagoa, Dede declined, declaring that he did not want to talk about the incident. Meanwhile, political leaders in Sagbama have risen in defence of the council Chairman, Mr. Perez Peretus over allegation of corruption and high-handedness levelled against him. Peretus who has been in the eye of the storm following his disagreement with a top government functionary has been accused of massive fraud and securing a loan facility for the council without authorisation. In a statement by the Secretary of the council on behalf of the leaders, Mr. Mirin Johnson, the leaders noted that the council took the loan of N45 million for the payment of April salaries due to the shortfall in the allocation that accrued to the council from the federation account. According to the leaders, the loan which was with the full knowledge of the Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs was used for a purpose which the people could attest to. The leaders commended Peretus for engaging in the settlement of debts incurred by past administrations, the provision of internet facility, the launch of a functional website for the council, the overhauling of electrical systems in Sagbama town, the purchase of five plots of land in Yenagoa to construct a befitting ultramodern liaison office complex with a view to generating revenue and the ongoing construction of a new office building. While noting that the “claim of fraud against the council chairman is a deliberate crusade by some politicians against the rising profile of the council chairman” they stressed that “investigation conducted on the charges of fraud, high-handedness and fanning ember of division among clans against the council chairman showed that they were false and only exist in the imagination of the opposition.”
Note: Bayelsa State is a major revenue earner from Nigeria’s huge oil and gas Federal Allocation. It is one of the richest states in Nigeria, but outright looting of public funds persists in the midst of pressing needs and poverty.
Case studies of sprawling poverty in Nigeria (1)
One-month-old triplets face ejection from hospital
…......... As jobless parents can’t pay medical bills
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/03/national-03-08-2010-016.htm
In Ijaw language, Beydomo means ‘let your mind be calm’. But for Beydomo Igoniwari, that name doesn’t represent her current situation. Right now, Beydomo’s mind is anything, but calm. Even her husband is as agitated and confused as the young lady. So what could be responsible for the worry and anxiety currently traumatizing their minds?
On June 6, the young lady was delivered of a set of triplets. The three bundles of joy were delivered at Ondewari community in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State. And since then, Beydomo and her husband, Karamotei, have been running from pillar to post, seeking for a way to pay the hospital bills and ensure the survival of their new born babies. Unfortunately, due to the long journey from Ondewari, one of the triplets died. But that is not the immediate headache of the couple. At the moment, Mr. and Mrs. Igoniwari have other concerns. They are currently battling to ensure that they are not evicted by the authorities of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa. The hospital officials have served them a quit notice, maintaining that they can no longer keep the babies and their mother at the hospital unless they pay their bills. Igoniwari, who is at a loss on how to raise the required funds to keep his children and wife in the hospital, is pleading for help from Nigerians as well as the Bayelsa State Government. He spoke his mind in an interview with Daily Sun…. “My name is Karamotei Igoniwari. I am 25 years old from Ondewari in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State. My wife gave birth to triplets on June 6 at the village and because of her condition; we had to rush her down to Yenagoa. We did not know that she was going to have triplets because there was no scan done. We already had two children before now. But as she was giving birth and I saw that she gave birth to triplets, I could not eat for two days because I have two children before now. “The situation I have found myself now is that I need assistance from the government. I have no job. I only survive on picking snails at the village. I don’t know where to run for help. I am confused. The hospital has served us a notice that they want to eject us. We have spent more than one month now and our bill is almost N50, 000. I need help from the government. Even if I am given a year to pay the money, I don’t know where I would get it.” Beydomo, who also spoke with our reporter, was close to tears as she pleaded for help to save her children. According to her, all her concern now is how the government or any good spirited Nigerian can offer help to the family. “I want the government to take care of the children. All I just want from government is to take care of them,” she said. Have they given the children any names? Igoniwari shook her head. She explained that christening the kids is the last thing on their minds. She said all they want to do now is to settle the hospital bills and return to the village where their church members and relatives are waiting to receive them with joy.
Note: Bayelsa State is a major revenue earner from Nigeria’s huge oil and gas Federal Allocation. It is one of the richest states in Nigeria, yet, its people are suffering in the midst of plenty.
…......... As jobless parents can’t pay medical bills
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2010/aug/03/national-03-08-2010-016.htm
In Ijaw language, Beydomo means ‘let your mind be calm’. But for Beydomo Igoniwari, that name doesn’t represent her current situation. Right now, Beydomo’s mind is anything, but calm. Even her husband is as agitated and confused as the young lady. So what could be responsible for the worry and anxiety currently traumatizing their minds?
On June 6, the young lady was delivered of a set of triplets. The three bundles of joy were delivered at Ondewari community in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State. And since then, Beydomo and her husband, Karamotei, have been running from pillar to post, seeking for a way to pay the hospital bills and ensure the survival of their new born babies. Unfortunately, due to the long journey from Ondewari, one of the triplets died. But that is not the immediate headache of the couple. At the moment, Mr. and Mrs. Igoniwari have other concerns. They are currently battling to ensure that they are not evicted by the authorities of the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Yenagoa. The hospital officials have served them a quit notice, maintaining that they can no longer keep the babies and their mother at the hospital unless they pay their bills. Igoniwari, who is at a loss on how to raise the required funds to keep his children and wife in the hospital, is pleading for help from Nigerians as well as the Bayelsa State Government. He spoke his mind in an interview with Daily Sun…. “My name is Karamotei Igoniwari. I am 25 years old from Ondewari in Southern Ijaw Local Government area of Bayelsa State. My wife gave birth to triplets on June 6 at the village and because of her condition; we had to rush her down to Yenagoa. We did not know that she was going to have triplets because there was no scan done. We already had two children before now. But as she was giving birth and I saw that she gave birth to triplets, I could not eat for two days because I have two children before now. “The situation I have found myself now is that I need assistance from the government. I have no job. I only survive on picking snails at the village. I don’t know where to run for help. I am confused. The hospital has served us a notice that they want to eject us. We have spent more than one month now and our bill is almost N50, 000. I need help from the government. Even if I am given a year to pay the money, I don’t know where I would get it.” Beydomo, who also spoke with our reporter, was close to tears as she pleaded for help to save her children. According to her, all her concern now is how the government or any good spirited Nigerian can offer help to the family. “I want the government to take care of the children. All I just want from government is to take care of them,” she said. Have they given the children any names? Igoniwari shook her head. She explained that christening the kids is the last thing on their minds. She said all they want to do now is to settle the hospital bills and return to the village where their church members and relatives are waiting to receive them with joy.
Note: Bayelsa State is a major revenue earner from Nigeria’s huge oil and gas Federal Allocation. It is one of the richest states in Nigeria, yet, its people are suffering in the midst of plenty.
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Now that Aboki is out of Prison
By Joachim Ezeji
Ever since Aboki came into media limelight, I had tactically evaded making an article on him. The temptation to write about him or about his frays with the Ikedi Ohakim’s government had been strong considering the fact that I have a record of criticizing bad governance that have persisted in the state. Recently, Aboki has come to do same but in a most brute manner based on the incontrovertible facts he dishes out. But today, I am compelled to write this piece on Aboki and in salute of justice.
Aboki, as I have chosen to call him was my senior at the Government Secondary School, Owerri. Then, he was a quiet and easy going senior, and as a result was a friend to many ‘junior’ students. He was simply just too cool and would even pick up quarrels with any of his classmates with a penchant for punishing younger students. Then he was noted for his great attention to details and ability to easily communicate in good English, because of that he was also called “Prof”, another title he then wielded in equal measure with “Aboki”. Both were his ‘guy’ names.
After Government College, we never really met again, but I learnt that he proceeded straight to University. When we eventually met again, a long time later, I called him “Prof”; which I still call him till date, he smiled and told me he reads my articles, commending me for it, and imploring me to continue. Then at Government Secondary School, I was the Editor –in- Chief of the Press Club, and because of that was to a large extent famous. Aboki, was excited that I was still writing, many years on.
I am therefore elated that Aboki’s illegal and most bizarre conviction has been quashed by a superior court. Kudos is here given to Hon. Justice Nonyerem Okoronkwo of High Court 8 Owerri for this act of courage in the midst of official conspiracy as witnessed in the lower magistrate court. I also congratulate Barrister LM Alozie for standing firm for the oppressed. Both men are men of integrity; sure, we need more of their type in our already debased society.
Really, I do not hate Ohakim but the only axe I have to grind with him is his style of governance which is generally anti-people and retrogressive. Sadly, his government operates just below average creative trust, and has woefully failed in building the requisite bridge between the people and their government.I wonder if the bonding really exist within his team.
Yet, he retains sheer opportunistic people like one Okpalaeke Cletus, who is supposedly his image maker. For Mr. Okpalaeke Cletus to describe Aboki as an illegal petrol, kerosene and diesel dealer in a Weekend Vanguard news interview is absurd. It exposes the sheer contempt the so called ruling elites have for those at the bottom of the pyramid i.e. the struggling masses. If Aboki is at all illegal, what stopped the government trying him under the relevant laws. I do not belong to the school of thought where principals are allowed to describe their subjects in degrading adjectives.
In the said interview, when Mr. Okpalaeke was confronted with the reality of Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha’s reality on Ohakim; Mr. Okpalaeke had said: “First and foremost, where did Samuelson emerge from to become the biggest subject of media discussion in Imo State for almost half a year? Samuelson was an illegal petrol, kerosene and diesel dealer. You know the roadside black market dealer”.
Mr. Okpalaeke wasn’t done yet, he continued: “His structure was demolished by Imo State Environmental Sanitation agents……………… It was the demolition of illegal structures in Owerri, capital of Imo State that gave birth to Samuelson the media darling. Samuelson has not had the time in his busy illegal fuel dealership to become an internet wizard, but with the demolition of the illegal structure, Samuelson suddenly became a celebrated internet media icon and computer wizard”.
Finally he said “Personally, if I was in charge of the information ministry, I would have totally ignored Samuelson. Regardless of what Samuelson may have written or said, I would have ignored him and at most, having the police make him verify the veracity of his publications since he is willing to be used as a genuine pig by affixing his name on other people’s publications”.
I find it utterly difficult to reconcile the rationale behind the use of those words. Was it an act of hubris by an absolutely unknown Mr Cletus Okpalaeke to impress his benefactor or was it simply because of the lack of appropriate words. Whatever it was, it is sheer stupidity on the part of Mr. Cletus Okpalaeke to describe Aboki in those terms. No doubt, those are one of the antics of overzealous and hungry appointees who are ever willing to impress their bosses.
Perhaps Mr Cletus Okpalaeke need be reminded that it is not too late to either use the moribund Imo House of Assembly or the police to make Aboki prove his case as he suggested. I think that would have been much better than having Almighty Ikedi Ohakim stooping so low to abduct and flog Aboki in the governor’s office; a public building built and maintained by public funds.
Painfully, it has become a national tragedy, that Nigeria rather than be in well knitted engagement with its citizens especially its graduates would rather abandon them to be on the street selling petrol, kerosene and diesel. That comment by Cletus Okpalaeke once again exposes the hypocrisy of those in government. And sadly, government is populated by scoundrels, 419ners, simpletons, charlatans, mediocre and rogues etc.
For most of us on the sidelines, especially those of us who have the courage to suggest alternative viewpoints, we are hated, harassed, illegally imprisoned and then described in the oddest of terms even when we claim to practice democracy.
Even at a much younger age, you need not look very far to find out that even from the sidelines we are much better qualified in terms of educational attainment, professional networks, international exposure, community engagement and overall aptitude much more than those who have only come into government to 'chop'. Yet, they would neither allow us to live nor be free in our own land. They persist in their destruction of our common wealth, exacerbating and perpetuating a system that hardly allows great minds to emerge and ventilate it.
However, now that Aboki is out of prison, may I make my stand known; and that is, that Chief Magistrate Victoria Isiguzo having become a controversial personality in the judiciary be shown out of the judiciary with immediate effect. I am suggesting that signatures be collected to formally demand for her sack from the National Judicial Council (NJC). The new Imo state that we eagerly look ahead for in 2011 should be spared the likes of Mrs. Victoria Isiguzo who takes pleasure in dispensing injustice.
Finally, we have to note that the prison doors are not shut yet; they are still open, albeit ajar, waiting for the next set of inmates. No doubt, those inmates know themselves and will certainly take their turn when the people's votes come to count in 2011 elections. For me, I can’t wait for the accident of 2007 to end.
Ever since Aboki came into media limelight, I had tactically evaded making an article on him. The temptation to write about him or about his frays with the Ikedi Ohakim’s government had been strong considering the fact that I have a record of criticizing bad governance that have persisted in the state. Recently, Aboki has come to do same but in a most brute manner based on the incontrovertible facts he dishes out. But today, I am compelled to write this piece on Aboki and in salute of justice.
Aboki, as I have chosen to call him was my senior at the Government Secondary School, Owerri. Then, he was a quiet and easy going senior, and as a result was a friend to many ‘junior’ students. He was simply just too cool and would even pick up quarrels with any of his classmates with a penchant for punishing younger students. Then he was noted for his great attention to details and ability to easily communicate in good English, because of that he was also called “Prof”, another title he then wielded in equal measure with “Aboki”. Both were his ‘guy’ names.
After Government College, we never really met again, but I learnt that he proceeded straight to University. When we eventually met again, a long time later, I called him “Prof”; which I still call him till date, he smiled and told me he reads my articles, commending me for it, and imploring me to continue. Then at Government Secondary School, I was the Editor –in- Chief of the Press Club, and because of that was to a large extent famous. Aboki, was excited that I was still writing, many years on.
I am therefore elated that Aboki’s illegal and most bizarre conviction has been quashed by a superior court. Kudos is here given to Hon. Justice Nonyerem Okoronkwo of High Court 8 Owerri for this act of courage in the midst of official conspiracy as witnessed in the lower magistrate court. I also congratulate Barrister LM Alozie for standing firm for the oppressed. Both men are men of integrity; sure, we need more of their type in our already debased society.
Really, I do not hate Ohakim but the only axe I have to grind with him is his style of governance which is generally anti-people and retrogressive. Sadly, his government operates just below average creative trust, and has woefully failed in building the requisite bridge between the people and their government.I wonder if the bonding really exist within his team.
Yet, he retains sheer opportunistic people like one Okpalaeke Cletus, who is supposedly his image maker. For Mr. Okpalaeke Cletus to describe Aboki as an illegal petrol, kerosene and diesel dealer in a Weekend Vanguard news interview is absurd. It exposes the sheer contempt the so called ruling elites have for those at the bottom of the pyramid i.e. the struggling masses. If Aboki is at all illegal, what stopped the government trying him under the relevant laws. I do not belong to the school of thought where principals are allowed to describe their subjects in degrading adjectives.
In the said interview, when Mr. Okpalaeke was confronted with the reality of Citizen Ikenna Samuelson Iwuoha’s reality on Ohakim; Mr. Okpalaeke had said: “First and foremost, where did Samuelson emerge from to become the biggest subject of media discussion in Imo State for almost half a year? Samuelson was an illegal petrol, kerosene and diesel dealer. You know the roadside black market dealer”.
Mr. Okpalaeke wasn’t done yet, he continued: “His structure was demolished by Imo State Environmental Sanitation agents……………… It was the demolition of illegal structures in Owerri, capital of Imo State that gave birth to Samuelson the media darling. Samuelson has not had the time in his busy illegal fuel dealership to become an internet wizard, but with the demolition of the illegal structure, Samuelson suddenly became a celebrated internet media icon and computer wizard”.
Finally he said “Personally, if I was in charge of the information ministry, I would have totally ignored Samuelson. Regardless of what Samuelson may have written or said, I would have ignored him and at most, having the police make him verify the veracity of his publications since he is willing to be used as a genuine pig by affixing his name on other people’s publications”.
I find it utterly difficult to reconcile the rationale behind the use of those words. Was it an act of hubris by an absolutely unknown Mr Cletus Okpalaeke to impress his benefactor or was it simply because of the lack of appropriate words. Whatever it was, it is sheer stupidity on the part of Mr. Cletus Okpalaeke to describe Aboki in those terms. No doubt, those are one of the antics of overzealous and hungry appointees who are ever willing to impress their bosses.
Perhaps Mr Cletus Okpalaeke need be reminded that it is not too late to either use the moribund Imo House of Assembly or the police to make Aboki prove his case as he suggested. I think that would have been much better than having Almighty Ikedi Ohakim stooping so low to abduct and flog Aboki in the governor’s office; a public building built and maintained by public funds.
Painfully, it has become a national tragedy, that Nigeria rather than be in well knitted engagement with its citizens especially its graduates would rather abandon them to be on the street selling petrol, kerosene and diesel. That comment by Cletus Okpalaeke once again exposes the hypocrisy of those in government. And sadly, government is populated by scoundrels, 419ners, simpletons, charlatans, mediocre and rogues etc.
For most of us on the sidelines, especially those of us who have the courage to suggest alternative viewpoints, we are hated, harassed, illegally imprisoned and then described in the oddest of terms even when we claim to practice democracy.
Even at a much younger age, you need not look very far to find out that even from the sidelines we are much better qualified in terms of educational attainment, professional networks, international exposure, community engagement and overall aptitude much more than those who have only come into government to 'chop'. Yet, they would neither allow us to live nor be free in our own land. They persist in their destruction of our common wealth, exacerbating and perpetuating a system that hardly allows great minds to emerge and ventilate it.
However, now that Aboki is out of prison, may I make my stand known; and that is, that Chief Magistrate Victoria Isiguzo having become a controversial personality in the judiciary be shown out of the judiciary with immediate effect. I am suggesting that signatures be collected to formally demand for her sack from the National Judicial Council (NJC). The new Imo state that we eagerly look ahead for in 2011 should be spared the likes of Mrs. Victoria Isiguzo who takes pleasure in dispensing injustice.
Finally, we have to note that the prison doors are not shut yet; they are still open, albeit ajar, waiting for the next set of inmates. No doubt, those inmates know themselves and will certainly take their turn when the people's votes come to count in 2011 elections. For me, I can’t wait for the accident of 2007 to end.
Saturday, 24 July 2010
The big society: My Childhood @ Okigwe
By
Joachim Ezeji
I can still remember events of days of yore, days of yesterdays. Then I was just a small boy, an infant still trying to understand my milieu. It was a memorable era as much as my memories can recede back to history, to the then little and serene town of Okigwe in south –eastern Nigeria. I was not born in Okigwe, but it is as good as if it was, because my parents had just had me, when the call of duty saw my father changing work station; departing the big commercial city of Onitsha, for Okigwe, a town just too minuscule to the gigantic size of Onitsha, a city of the timbres and calibres of trade and commerce.
As a bank staff in the then African Continental Bank ltd, my father had a job that had a fair wage that enabled him to adequately care for and take care of his young family. Before me was Vitalis, my senior brother who was just a year older than me. He, himself had been born in Uboma, a few years after the Nigerian- Biafra Civil War. My people were the Biafra’s and had suffered the atrocities of the war most. Before Vitalis, was Ndidiamaka, our supposedly senior sister, who unfortunately died even before her first birthday during those dark days in the village, where want and misery was the order consequent of the civil war that just ended.
Growing up in Okigwe was great. Though a small and serene town, Okigwe was a big society. People knew each other and easily identified who your father was wherever you are seen; you need not necessarily mention your surname. There was love, understanding and good neighbourliness. Crime existed, but at insignificant scales. Then, armed Robbery and kidnapping were alien vices and were rarely heard of.
Though a child, I can still remember events of those days when electricity first came into the town. Before then, there was no electricity. Houses had no electric wirings because there was no need for them. We lived in total darkness, only lighting candles and kerosene lanterns at night. The implication was that there were no television sets or the opportunity of watching one. Then, if you came to Okigwe at a time such as 9 pm, you would find every resident already gone to bed with doors securely locked.
Then my mother had a provision store that also sells liquor especially beer. The store had a big sign that welcomes customers to the store. The inscription on that sign had read:‘Mrs R.C. Ezeji Provision and Liquor Off-Licence Store’. The sign board then served a special purpose for most of the kids on our street as it provided the first learning board for pronouncing or reading english language words. Then, at less busy periods, me, my brother and our friends often gathered on its foot to gingerly read and pronounce its letters. It was an exciting ritual though often rowdy. The store was situated in Ike Road by the then Nne-Amaka buildings. Then, customers walked into the store in large numbers. It provided a gathering point and leisure to the bulk of the residents on Ike Road and beyond. One attractive bait in that store then, was that my mother was amongst a very few who sold cold drinks. My father had bought and equipped the store with a fridge that used both kerosene and electricity. Since there was no electricity, she used kerosene in running the fridge. Low and Behold, the fridge produced well chilled drinks and ice blocks. As a consequence, customers came in droves. Most of the residents were traders, teachers, council workers and other civil servants.
The absence of electricity in Okigwe in those days constrained growth and made Okigwe to be so heavily dependent on other towns such as Enugu, Onitsha and Umuahia; all nearby towns. But, I think that Enugu and Onitsha had the greatest influence as the bulk of the confectionaries such as bread and snacks (e.g. Chinchim) were all made and conveyed from those towns to Okigwe. Nevertheless the efficiency of delivery was great as Okigwe never lacked any of them in good quantity, but for quality, I cant tell. Then we knew all the Bakery trucks by their names and time of arrival.
When electricity finally arrived Okigwe, a new kind of life came with it. The new kind of life includes the luxury of watching a television. Then, landlords had no quarrel in supporting their tenants reap this dividend as they immediately wired their buildings without delay. Also, my father did not hesitate to purchase a television set for our leisure. The necessity was brought to the fore when it almost became a routine to move from house to house of those who had television, searching for my brother, who in the course of watching late night movies in other neighbour’s homes often slept off. To arrest that problem, my mother insisted my father must buy a television for the children. And when the television came, Vitalis promptly colonized it.
As usual water and sanitation in Okigwe was a big challenge. Then, residents generally had to source water from raw sources. As a hilly and rocky down, Okigwe had a geology that is blessed with good aquifers. There are thousands of springs supplying clean water supplies to Okigwe residents. It was only distance that determined which one you used. As kids we preferred going to distant springs out of curiosity or to further have fun. Then, you often have to queue for hours to get water. When there are delays in our returning home, our mother will come looking for us. Often, it would be neighbours who would often reveal where they last saw us. With such tips we were easily located and brought home with or without the water, but for sure we must have had some good fun.
Ironically, most of those springs were developed and protected with spring boxes built by colonial administrators of the past. Present day government in Nigeria is not keen in investing in such infrastructure even when the World Health Organisation (WHO) lists protected spring as an acceptable water supply source. The sustainability of those springs now is under threat everywhere in Okigwe. As far as my memory can go, no further maintenance has been carried out on them except self-help group efforts by locals. In some places, lands hosting springs had been sold and new owners opting to destroy the springs and setting up residential buildings with diesel powered boreholes.
The only semblance of utility supplied waters where those that came with the public taps which had people queuing for long hours with containers waiting for the tap to start ‘running’. Whenever it does, out right struggle often sets in. Then, your ability to get water from those taps was a case of survival of the fittest. Fights, quarrels and verbal abuses were common though they were easily resolved and people became friends again. However, the consequence was that the infrastructure often gets damaged, and water supply from them ceasing for some time. But even at that response by the utility was often prompt.
On the other hand, sanitation was a concern. As was typical of major towns in Nigeria then, including Port Harcout, Lagos, Warri, Owerri, Enugu and Kano etc most houses in Okigwe then had bucket latrine systems. It was only in the 1980’s that this system was abolished in parts of Nigeria. Then, as you squat to use the system, you see the faeces of others before you. It was a sorry sight and most unhygienic but that was what we had. Night soil men were also common as we knew who one was. They thrive only in the night, taking the buckets away and emptying them in the ‘Iyi- echu’ stream, a small but perennial stream that drains the town. As a result of this activity, most residents refrained from eating big species of fish especially the Tilapia, which then was very common in the stream, saying that the fishes were big in size because of the abundant faeces they ate. But for us, as young as we were then, we had fun fishing in the stream and catching those Tilapia. Catching and frying tilapia was a childhood garland.
To be continued!
Joachim Ezeji
I can still remember events of days of yore, days of yesterdays. Then I was just a small boy, an infant still trying to understand my milieu. It was a memorable era as much as my memories can recede back to history, to the then little and serene town of Okigwe in south –eastern Nigeria. I was not born in Okigwe, but it is as good as if it was, because my parents had just had me, when the call of duty saw my father changing work station; departing the big commercial city of Onitsha, for Okigwe, a town just too minuscule to the gigantic size of Onitsha, a city of the timbres and calibres of trade and commerce.
As a bank staff in the then African Continental Bank ltd, my father had a job that had a fair wage that enabled him to adequately care for and take care of his young family. Before me was Vitalis, my senior brother who was just a year older than me. He, himself had been born in Uboma, a few years after the Nigerian- Biafra Civil War. My people were the Biafra’s and had suffered the atrocities of the war most. Before Vitalis, was Ndidiamaka, our supposedly senior sister, who unfortunately died even before her first birthday during those dark days in the village, where want and misery was the order consequent of the civil war that just ended.
Growing up in Okigwe was great. Though a small and serene town, Okigwe was a big society. People knew each other and easily identified who your father was wherever you are seen; you need not necessarily mention your surname. There was love, understanding and good neighbourliness. Crime existed, but at insignificant scales. Then, armed Robbery and kidnapping were alien vices and were rarely heard of.
Though a child, I can still remember events of those days when electricity first came into the town. Before then, there was no electricity. Houses had no electric wirings because there was no need for them. We lived in total darkness, only lighting candles and kerosene lanterns at night. The implication was that there were no television sets or the opportunity of watching one. Then, if you came to Okigwe at a time such as 9 pm, you would find every resident already gone to bed with doors securely locked.
Then my mother had a provision store that also sells liquor especially beer. The store had a big sign that welcomes customers to the store. The inscription on that sign had read:‘Mrs R.C. Ezeji Provision and Liquor Off-Licence Store’. The sign board then served a special purpose for most of the kids on our street as it provided the first learning board for pronouncing or reading english language words. Then, at less busy periods, me, my brother and our friends often gathered on its foot to gingerly read and pronounce its letters. It was an exciting ritual though often rowdy. The store was situated in Ike Road by the then Nne-Amaka buildings. Then, customers walked into the store in large numbers. It provided a gathering point and leisure to the bulk of the residents on Ike Road and beyond. One attractive bait in that store then, was that my mother was amongst a very few who sold cold drinks. My father had bought and equipped the store with a fridge that used both kerosene and electricity. Since there was no electricity, she used kerosene in running the fridge. Low and Behold, the fridge produced well chilled drinks and ice blocks. As a consequence, customers came in droves. Most of the residents were traders, teachers, council workers and other civil servants.
The absence of electricity in Okigwe in those days constrained growth and made Okigwe to be so heavily dependent on other towns such as Enugu, Onitsha and Umuahia; all nearby towns. But, I think that Enugu and Onitsha had the greatest influence as the bulk of the confectionaries such as bread and snacks (e.g. Chinchim) were all made and conveyed from those towns to Okigwe. Nevertheless the efficiency of delivery was great as Okigwe never lacked any of them in good quantity, but for quality, I cant tell. Then we knew all the Bakery trucks by their names and time of arrival.
When electricity finally arrived Okigwe, a new kind of life came with it. The new kind of life includes the luxury of watching a television. Then, landlords had no quarrel in supporting their tenants reap this dividend as they immediately wired their buildings without delay. Also, my father did not hesitate to purchase a television set for our leisure. The necessity was brought to the fore when it almost became a routine to move from house to house of those who had television, searching for my brother, who in the course of watching late night movies in other neighbour’s homes often slept off. To arrest that problem, my mother insisted my father must buy a television for the children. And when the television came, Vitalis promptly colonized it.
As usual water and sanitation in Okigwe was a big challenge. Then, residents generally had to source water from raw sources. As a hilly and rocky down, Okigwe had a geology that is blessed with good aquifers. There are thousands of springs supplying clean water supplies to Okigwe residents. It was only distance that determined which one you used. As kids we preferred going to distant springs out of curiosity or to further have fun. Then, you often have to queue for hours to get water. When there are delays in our returning home, our mother will come looking for us. Often, it would be neighbours who would often reveal where they last saw us. With such tips we were easily located and brought home with or without the water, but for sure we must have had some good fun.
Ironically, most of those springs were developed and protected with spring boxes built by colonial administrators of the past. Present day government in Nigeria is not keen in investing in such infrastructure even when the World Health Organisation (WHO) lists protected spring as an acceptable water supply source. The sustainability of those springs now is under threat everywhere in Okigwe. As far as my memory can go, no further maintenance has been carried out on them except self-help group efforts by locals. In some places, lands hosting springs had been sold and new owners opting to destroy the springs and setting up residential buildings with diesel powered boreholes.
The only semblance of utility supplied waters where those that came with the public taps which had people queuing for long hours with containers waiting for the tap to start ‘running’. Whenever it does, out right struggle often sets in. Then, your ability to get water from those taps was a case of survival of the fittest. Fights, quarrels and verbal abuses were common though they were easily resolved and people became friends again. However, the consequence was that the infrastructure often gets damaged, and water supply from them ceasing for some time. But even at that response by the utility was often prompt.
On the other hand, sanitation was a concern. As was typical of major towns in Nigeria then, including Port Harcout, Lagos, Warri, Owerri, Enugu and Kano etc most houses in Okigwe then had bucket latrine systems. It was only in the 1980’s that this system was abolished in parts of Nigeria. Then, as you squat to use the system, you see the faeces of others before you. It was a sorry sight and most unhygienic but that was what we had. Night soil men were also common as we knew who one was. They thrive only in the night, taking the buckets away and emptying them in the ‘Iyi- echu’ stream, a small but perennial stream that drains the town. As a result of this activity, most residents refrained from eating big species of fish especially the Tilapia, which then was very common in the stream, saying that the fishes were big in size because of the abundant faeces they ate. But for us, as young as we were then, we had fun fishing in the stream and catching those Tilapia. Catching and frying tilapia was a childhood garland.
To be continued!
Saturday, 17 July 2010
Ill Advised: NCC’s N6.4bn SIM cards Registration Budget
By
Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji
In 2007 I had travelled abroad for six months, and unlike my previous trips, I returned to discover that my GSM number was no longer mine, it has been re-allocated by MTN. This was despite the fact that I had bought that line (08035767048) at an exorbitant price of N14, 000 (US$100) in 2004. When I visited the MTN office on Wetheral Road, Owerri to find out why it has to do that, what I got was an arrogant response that I’m not supposed to travel out for long without making provision for roaming my phone. On further enquiry on how to roam, MTN told me that it would cost me a minimum of N50, 000 (US$320) to initially set up roaming. To me that was outright extortion and unacceptable.
Based on suggestions by worried friends and acquaintances that inundated me with queries on what was wrong with my line, I came to find out that MTN had already resold my number to another customer, an Alhaji, who lives in Kano. To confirm this development, I put a call through on the number, and low and behold, it was true, as a friendly voice from a Hausa/Fulani man picked the call. He identified himself as an Alhaji, confessing that he had already received thousands of calls on my behalf. He also said that he has been having sleepless night as a result. I was not surprise that was the case, because that line was me in totality. It was a primary communication medium for all my businesses both local and international. Alhaji accepted to return the number to me provided we worked out the conditions. But that was not to be, as I soon jetted out again, out of the country within a few days.
I am therefore keen to find out how the proposal by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to spend N6.4 billion on the registration of SIM cards in its 2010 Budget would fit into such excesses by service providers like MTN. Would it mean that henceforth, even if I travels and stay away for 12 months that my line won’t be revoked and resold?
In as much as I absolutely find nothing wrong with acquiring data of network customers in Nigeria, I find a lot wrong and faulty by NCC doing it, and the way it has chosen to do it. To me this amounts to a colossal conspiracy to loot public funds. It is absolutely bizarre. It baffles me that even the National Assembly could allow this seemingly day light fraud to stand. I will argue it from just 5 points.
First, a SIM card registration similar to the current exercise would have been plausible had it been that we truly have a viable and working national ID card data base. What we currently have is an outright caricature of how it exists in other countries. The national ID card scheme in Nigeria failed and is incapable of providing a backbone or shield for the current SIM card registration exercise. Without a viable National ID card scheme, how sure are we, that the information being provided by those queuing to register their SIM is actually correct.
Second, what technology is being used for the registration? Is it a networked computer system that shares data nationally or merely a one stop entry system computer that is akin to manual entry? Is the data capturing merely being written down on note books? Against these backgrounds, what is the guaranty that data being provided is secured to safeguard it from theft and use against innocent victims i.e. what mechanisms exist to guide against identity theft?
Third, to what extent was the level of stakeholders’ sensitization, mobilization and participation carried out prior to the current registration? Stakeholders’ in this regards include network customers, service providers such as MTN, the government and also the small scale retailers and hawkers of the cards etc. The failure of this component in the whole arrangement is certainly its nunc dimities. In a country with highly sophisticated informal sector such as ours’, the sensitization and engagement of stakeholders is the only plausible pathway capable of enlisting workable suggestions for this scheme. But when one man sitting somewhere with crude ideas of how to make quick money is allowed to have his way, this is exactly the kind of schemes that are pushed down to us. They will tell you that network users would not need to pay money to register their details, but that is just one side of the story. Another side of the story is that there is a colossal N6.4 billion that is to be looted in disguise. How sustainable is the scheme? How much data will that amount of money register before it runs out? Who will fund follow up exercises? The whole set-up is simply ridiculous and riddled with puzzles upon puzzles. Moreover, experience has shown that when things are merely conceived from above and pushed down just like that, then look around very well, you would find out there; a clique out to “Chop Money”. Once that N6.4 billion is squandered, nothing again would be heard about the scheme. It would be dead as the National ID card.
Fourth, is registration of SIM cards the job of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)? The outright answer is a big – No. The proposal is out rightly a curious exercise because the NCC being a regulator ought not to have any business with registration of SIM cards. Such exercise should be the responsibility of the service providers. This is the case everywhere where users’ details are ever taken. Moreover there is nothing innovative about the idea other than the haste to loot the N6.4 billion by those promoting it. There are more cost effective innovative ways to achieve a similar result. For example, service providers could be directed to sale telephones on contract bases as is done in Europe and America. What this means is that new phones would henceforth mostly be given out on contract bases. With such contracts the data of subscribers is easily gathered.
Finally, enforcement; I am interested to know who is going to enforce this scheme. What if I refuse to register my details, who is going to force me to comply? There is currently no law backing this scheme, so customers who opt not to register their details are certainly not breaking the law. Would the police be used to implement this illegal scheme or is it the courts, who?
I have also heard people applaud the scheme as being capable of arresting or deterring kidnapping. But that is the most watery arguments in its support so far. Kidnappers often make calls only with the lines of their victims, not theirs. The persistence of kidnapping in Nigeria and the resort to this scheme as a panacea exposes the lack of capacity to think out genuine solutions. I will juxtapose my argument with the event of the kidnap of the British boy – Sahil Saeed who was snatched from his residence in Jhelum, a city in northeast Pakistan, in March 2010.
The kidnappers had put a ransom of £100,000 in cash on the head of the 5 years old boy. A series of telephone calls between the kidnappers and the boy’s father Raja Saeed provided the clue to smash the syndicate which also had international dimensions.
Follow up investigations made via tracking the GSM networked lines of the kidnappers saw to their eventual arrests. Two Pakistani men and a Romanian woman were arrested in a flat 6 miles South of Barcelona and another two other suspects were arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The Kidnappers were arrested and detained just hours after Sahil was freed by his captors immediately after the ransom was paid. Payment of the ransom had been a collective agreement by the security forces that relied on the effectiveness of a closely co-ordinated surveillance operation involving officers from Britain, France and Spain. The Surveillance was built on phone calls, most of which were made from Barcelona.
The original ransom demand came from an Urdu speaker who gave the family a three-day deadline to pay the cash in Manchester, before changing the drop-off destination to Paris. A total of 15 instruction calls were made, four of which came from Barcelona, police said. Mobile phones on which some of the calls were made were found in the raided flat, they added.
In a statement, Spanish police added: 'To comply with the deadline, the boy's father travelled to Manchester. 'Once there he received new instructions ordering him to travel to Paris with the money. It was in this city that the place for the handover was finally determined. 'Several people went to that place, in a public street, and police observed the criminals split the money and put it into a small bag and a small suitcase with wheels.
'The boy's whereabouts was unknown so the people who had gone to pick up the money, a man and a woman, were tailed. 'The French police followed them in a car to the border where Spanish police took over. 'After travelling around Barcelona they headed to Constanti, parked up and took several packages and the suitcase in which they had placed most of the ransom money out of the car, helped by a third person, before heading into a nearby flat.
'A watch was placed on the property until police were certain the boy had been released in Pakistan and the operation to arrest the suspects was then launched.' Police refused to give a timeline for the rescue, but Sahil was later found wandering in a field in the village of Dinga in Punjab.
The success of the operation was not based on any SIM card registration; Please, Nigeria, wake up!
Joachim Ibeziako Ezeji
In 2007 I had travelled abroad for six months, and unlike my previous trips, I returned to discover that my GSM number was no longer mine, it has been re-allocated by MTN. This was despite the fact that I had bought that line (08035767048) at an exorbitant price of N14, 000 (US$100) in 2004. When I visited the MTN office on Wetheral Road, Owerri to find out why it has to do that, what I got was an arrogant response that I’m not supposed to travel out for long without making provision for roaming my phone. On further enquiry on how to roam, MTN told me that it would cost me a minimum of N50, 000 (US$320) to initially set up roaming. To me that was outright extortion and unacceptable.
Based on suggestions by worried friends and acquaintances that inundated me with queries on what was wrong with my line, I came to find out that MTN had already resold my number to another customer, an Alhaji, who lives in Kano. To confirm this development, I put a call through on the number, and low and behold, it was true, as a friendly voice from a Hausa/Fulani man picked the call. He identified himself as an Alhaji, confessing that he had already received thousands of calls on my behalf. He also said that he has been having sleepless night as a result. I was not surprise that was the case, because that line was me in totality. It was a primary communication medium for all my businesses both local and international. Alhaji accepted to return the number to me provided we worked out the conditions. But that was not to be, as I soon jetted out again, out of the country within a few days.
I am therefore keen to find out how the proposal by the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) to spend N6.4 billion on the registration of SIM cards in its 2010 Budget would fit into such excesses by service providers like MTN. Would it mean that henceforth, even if I travels and stay away for 12 months that my line won’t be revoked and resold?
In as much as I absolutely find nothing wrong with acquiring data of network customers in Nigeria, I find a lot wrong and faulty by NCC doing it, and the way it has chosen to do it. To me this amounts to a colossal conspiracy to loot public funds. It is absolutely bizarre. It baffles me that even the National Assembly could allow this seemingly day light fraud to stand. I will argue it from just 5 points.
First, a SIM card registration similar to the current exercise would have been plausible had it been that we truly have a viable and working national ID card data base. What we currently have is an outright caricature of how it exists in other countries. The national ID card scheme in Nigeria failed and is incapable of providing a backbone or shield for the current SIM card registration exercise. Without a viable National ID card scheme, how sure are we, that the information being provided by those queuing to register their SIM is actually correct.
Second, what technology is being used for the registration? Is it a networked computer system that shares data nationally or merely a one stop entry system computer that is akin to manual entry? Is the data capturing merely being written down on note books? Against these backgrounds, what is the guaranty that data being provided is secured to safeguard it from theft and use against innocent victims i.e. what mechanisms exist to guide against identity theft?
Third, to what extent was the level of stakeholders’ sensitization, mobilization and participation carried out prior to the current registration? Stakeholders’ in this regards include network customers, service providers such as MTN, the government and also the small scale retailers and hawkers of the cards etc. The failure of this component in the whole arrangement is certainly its nunc dimities. In a country with highly sophisticated informal sector such as ours’, the sensitization and engagement of stakeholders is the only plausible pathway capable of enlisting workable suggestions for this scheme. But when one man sitting somewhere with crude ideas of how to make quick money is allowed to have his way, this is exactly the kind of schemes that are pushed down to us. They will tell you that network users would not need to pay money to register their details, but that is just one side of the story. Another side of the story is that there is a colossal N6.4 billion that is to be looted in disguise. How sustainable is the scheme? How much data will that amount of money register before it runs out? Who will fund follow up exercises? The whole set-up is simply ridiculous and riddled with puzzles upon puzzles. Moreover, experience has shown that when things are merely conceived from above and pushed down just like that, then look around very well, you would find out there; a clique out to “Chop Money”. Once that N6.4 billion is squandered, nothing again would be heard about the scheme. It would be dead as the National ID card.
Fourth, is registration of SIM cards the job of the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC)? The outright answer is a big – No. The proposal is out rightly a curious exercise because the NCC being a regulator ought not to have any business with registration of SIM cards. Such exercise should be the responsibility of the service providers. This is the case everywhere where users’ details are ever taken. Moreover there is nothing innovative about the idea other than the haste to loot the N6.4 billion by those promoting it. There are more cost effective innovative ways to achieve a similar result. For example, service providers could be directed to sale telephones on contract bases as is done in Europe and America. What this means is that new phones would henceforth mostly be given out on contract bases. With such contracts the data of subscribers is easily gathered.
Finally, enforcement; I am interested to know who is going to enforce this scheme. What if I refuse to register my details, who is going to force me to comply? There is currently no law backing this scheme, so customers who opt not to register their details are certainly not breaking the law. Would the police be used to implement this illegal scheme or is it the courts, who?
I have also heard people applaud the scheme as being capable of arresting or deterring kidnapping. But that is the most watery arguments in its support so far. Kidnappers often make calls only with the lines of their victims, not theirs. The persistence of kidnapping in Nigeria and the resort to this scheme as a panacea exposes the lack of capacity to think out genuine solutions. I will juxtapose my argument with the event of the kidnap of the British boy – Sahil Saeed who was snatched from his residence in Jhelum, a city in northeast Pakistan, in March 2010.
The kidnappers had put a ransom of £100,000 in cash on the head of the 5 years old boy. A series of telephone calls between the kidnappers and the boy’s father Raja Saeed provided the clue to smash the syndicate which also had international dimensions.
Follow up investigations made via tracking the GSM networked lines of the kidnappers saw to their eventual arrests. Two Pakistani men and a Romanian woman were arrested in a flat 6 miles South of Barcelona and another two other suspects were arrested at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris. The Kidnappers were arrested and detained just hours after Sahil was freed by his captors immediately after the ransom was paid. Payment of the ransom had been a collective agreement by the security forces that relied on the effectiveness of a closely co-ordinated surveillance operation involving officers from Britain, France and Spain. The Surveillance was built on phone calls, most of which were made from Barcelona.
The original ransom demand came from an Urdu speaker who gave the family a three-day deadline to pay the cash in Manchester, before changing the drop-off destination to Paris. A total of 15 instruction calls were made, four of which came from Barcelona, police said. Mobile phones on which some of the calls were made were found in the raided flat, they added.
In a statement, Spanish police added: 'To comply with the deadline, the boy's father travelled to Manchester. 'Once there he received new instructions ordering him to travel to Paris with the money. It was in this city that the place for the handover was finally determined. 'Several people went to that place, in a public street, and police observed the criminals split the money and put it into a small bag and a small suitcase with wheels.
'The boy's whereabouts was unknown so the people who had gone to pick up the money, a man and a woman, were tailed. 'The French police followed them in a car to the border where Spanish police took over. 'After travelling around Barcelona they headed to Constanti, parked up and took several packages and the suitcase in which they had placed most of the ransom money out of the car, helped by a third person, before heading into a nearby flat.
'A watch was placed on the property until police were certain the boy had been released in Pakistan and the operation to arrest the suspects was then launched.' Police refused to give a timeline for the rescue, but Sahil was later found wandering in a field in the village of Dinga in Punjab.
The success of the operation was not based on any SIM card registration; Please, Nigeria, wake up!
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