Nobel laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, on Thursday criticised President Muhammadu Buhari’s handling of killings by herdsmen in the country, as well as his response to the abduction of over 73 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State, last month.

The renowned writer also flayed the President for attending a wedding (Governor Abdullahi Ganduje daughter’s marriage to Governor Abiola Ajimobi’s son) in the North few days after the abduction of the schoolgirls, describing the President’s action as blasphemous.

According to Soyinka, Buhari, who did not deem it necessary to visit Dapchi after the abduction of the schoolgirls or the victims of herdsmen attacks in various parts of the country until he was criticised, was not different from Obasanjo, who promptly visited the scene of the bomb blasts in Ikeja in 2002, but told the “bedraggled survivors (that) surrounded him, pleading for help, protesting, “What do you want me to do? I’m not obliged to be here!”

He described as insensitive how Buhari and other politicians thronged Kano State for the wedding between the daughter of Kano State Governor, Abdullahi Ganduje, and son of Governor Abiola Ajimobi of Oyo State, when the entire country was grieving over the abduction of schoolgirls in Yobe State.

Soyinka spoke in Lagos on Thursday at the maiden edition of Ripples Nigeria Dialogue, organised by Ripples Centre for Data and Investigative Journalism.

The dialogue was titled, ‘Rebuilding Trust in a Divided Nigeria,’ but Soyinka titled his keynote address, ‘From Myetti to Haiti, Notes from a Solidarity Visit.’

On the panel of discussants were a former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi; Prof. Pat Utomi, who was represented by Mr. Rasheed Adegbenro; and Dr. Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi of the Transition Monitoring Group.

Soyinka said Buhari’s reaction was typical of the “presidential response” to crisis in Nigeria, from Obasanjo to former President Goodluck Jonathan, who waited for “nearly three weeks to accept that nearly 270 plus of our children had been abducted from Chibok village,” and “insisted that it was all a ploy by the opposition to discredit his government.”

He said he recalled that following the statement credited to Obasanjo on the scene of the Ikeja bomb blasts, he (Soyinka) called then President to protest and “chided him severely” but the response he got from Obasanjo was “Kampala tie niyen – that is your own Kampala,” which he said remained a riddle to him till date.

“… They said, ‘Oh yes, that wedding was a needed therapy for the trauma undergone so recently by the abduction of those girls.’ Now, that’s what I call blasphemy. I’m not a religious person, but that is blasphemy.

“…I talk of the Cana wedding. There are so many formulas that could have been adopted to ensure that the couple still had their wedding without the accompanied exhibitionist lavishness so soon after a national calamity.”

The playwright recalled that after Jonathan finally accepted the reality of the Chibok schoolgirls’ abduction in 2014, his wife, Patience “proceeded to stage one of the most nauseating acts of incoherent, tuneless, meaningless and purposeless investigative” session.

Soyinka also flayed the Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan Ali, for his “unacceptable” comments on the killings by herdsmen.

Soyinka, who recalled how during his visit sometime ago to Trinidad and Tobago, the country had witnessed a coup, during which its then Minister of Defence, “in that so-called coup” in Trinidad, was shot in the leg, said, “I consider that shot, however painful, a far more honourable wound than the wound sustained by our Minister of Defence, who shot himself in the mouth with some unacceptable commentary concerning the rampages of the Fulani herdsmen.

“What did you expect them to do?’ –  This is after people had been killed in figures of hundreds – ‘What do you expect them to do if you block their route?’ This is addressing victims of Fulani herdsmen; this is addressing issues of rape, of massacre of the takeover of farmlands, the takeover of villages, all over Benue, Taraba, etcetera, etcetera.

“Land grabbers are trying to build on a piece of land that is not theirs ‘and you obstruct them, what do you want them to do?’ Farmers are squatting on land on which they derive their food and complaining, daring to complain, that cows were trampling on their farms and eating their crops. ‘So, what do you expect the cow owners to do?’’

The don said he was surprised that Buhari had not sacked the Minister of Defence.

He added, “And of course, let’s not forget the abduction of the girls, the latest, Dapchi. It’s their fault; didn’t they know that Boko Haram doesn’t like girls going to school? Stupid girls, stupid teachers, stupid parents; serves them right. It’s very strange to be able to say outside the world that the Minister of Defence is still in Buhari’s cabinet.”

Soyinka said he usually got impatient whenever “I hear complaints such as Buhari has failed to go and sympathise with the people of Benue, with the people of Nasarawa, with the people of Plateau of whatever.”

According to him, what was needed was not sympathy but justice.

He said, “We are speaking here of one eternal commodity that is a fundamental human deserving – justice. That’s what we are speaking about. Sympathy with or without the ostentatious laying of wreaths at the mass graves of victims by the new messiahs; sympathy is an ordinary commodity accessible to all of us. We are speaking, however, of a people’s need for security and where the structure for that fails, bring the perpetrators to book, even while emplacing deterrence measures against repeat.

“We are speaking of governance will and responsibility; the readiness to respond with massive punitive action when the fundamental security of a people is violated. We are speaking here of a President showing up at the arena of human desecration, not to shed any unjust tears but to read the riot act and give orders right on the scene of violation; order his forces into action against the arrogant blood-thirsty renegades of society who wallow in the blood of others, having been assured, some way or the other, of a cloak of impunity. We are speaking of the courage to declare such monsters terrorists, enemies of humanity with the same dispatch as the declaration of far less violent, far less distabilising movement or the disruptive and supranaturalist, and sometimes nasty, in their attestation and activities.  We are speaking, in fact, for a culture of even-handedness.”

On the recent description of Nigeria as a shithole by President Donald Trump of the United States of America, Soyinka said Nigerians who flood the Internet with negative comments were to blame.

He said, “There is confusion between the right not to be insulted and the right to feel insulted…What does Donald Trump read? Does he read? I have no idea, but I know he does not miss reading Twitter. Now, who are the champions Twitters of the world? Nigerians. Nigerians Twitters, they violate all written and unwritten laws of human decency, they concur, they degrade, they contaminate everything they touch… So, when Donald Trump, who doesn’t miss his morning Tweets encounters their toxic outpouring, what other conclusion does he obtain?…any alien visiting this planet and logging onto the Internet will come to the same conclusion as Donald Trump, who lives right on this planet and breakfasts on Tweets.”

In his own contribution, Obi narrowed the problem of distrust to misrule and wastage of public resources.

According to him, there could not be trust in a society where nepotism is placed above merit, saying ‘nepotism is the biggest form of corruption.”

Speaking on Utomi’s behalf, Adegbenro stressed that knowledge should be a major yardstick in electing leaders, rather than electing people based on the mere promise that they would perform.

Punch

A groundbreaking research project by Amnesty International has exposed evidence of serious negligence by oil giants, Shell and Eni, whose irresponsible approach to oil spills in the Niger Delta is exacerbating an environmental crisis.

Through the Decoders network, an innovative platform developed by Amnesty International to crowdsource human rights research, the organisation enlisted thousands of supporters and activists to collect data about oil spills in the Niger Delta.

Their findings were then analysed by Amnesty International’s researchers and verified by Accufacts, an independent pipelines expert.

According to this publicly available data, Amnesty International found that Shell and Eni are taking weeks to respond to reports of spills and publishing misleading information about the cause and severity of spills, which may result in communities not receiving compensation.

“Shell and Eni claim they are doing everything they can to prevent oil spills but Decoders’ research suggests otherwise. They found that the companies often ignore reports of oil spills for months on end – on one occasion Eni took more than a year to respond. The Niger Delta is one of the most polluted places on earth and it beggars belief that the companies responsible are still displaying this level of negligence,” said Mark Dummett, Business and Human Rights Researcher at Amnesty International.

“Adding insult to injury is the fact that Shell and Eni seem to be publishing unreliable information about the cause and extent of spills. The people of the Niger Delta have paid the price for Shell and Eni’s recklessness for too long. Thanks to Decoders, we’re a step closer to bringing them to account.”

Amnesty International is now asking the Nigerian government to re-open investigations into 89 oil spills.

What Decoders did

Decoders collected information about the contents of the reports that Shell and Eni publish each time they visit the site of an oil spill. These reports detail the likely cause, location and extent of the damage, and are often accompanied by photographs. They are important because companies pay compensation to affected communities based on this information.

Previous research by Amnesty International has revealed that the information in these reports is often inaccurate. For example, Shell massively understated the amount of oil spilt in the fishing town of Bodo between 2008 and 2009. With the help of Amnesty International, the Bodo community eventually took legal action, forcing Shell to admit the real amount and pay £55 million in compensation.

To help other communities like Bodo, Amnesty International needed to analyse masses of publicly available data about oil spills, and enlisted activists from around the world to help. A total of 3,545 people, from 142 countries, took part in Decode Oil Spills. They answered 163,063 individual questions about reports and photographs and worked 1,300 hours – the equivalent of someone working full-time for eight months.

PT

The sharp of exchange of words in Abuja between Gov. Nasir el-Rufai of Kaduna state and Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) made the news last week.

The Governor reportedly lashed out at the organised labour claiming unions “destroyed the nation more than they have contributed to it”.

Hear him: “Trade Unions have never served the country well. They have been selfish and everything is about their narrow interests. In general, in Nigeria, trade unions have been a danger to our progress and I think they should be curtailed”.

At 40th anniversary when all Nigerians, including President Buhari openly celebrate the role of labour in the struggle for independence, against colonialism, for democracy against military dictatorship, brother el-Rufai’s was exceptionally uncharitable to the nation’s workforce!

But true to Labour’s tradition of resistance against abuse, (verbal or policy wise) in a quick reaction, organized labour, pointedly described the governor “as an embarrassment” to public office, an “anti-people and a chameleon”.

Witness the General Secretary of Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, Dr. Peter Ozo-Eson: “The country has a better moral standing than the likes of el-Rufai who has demonstrated that he is not fit to hold public office or political position. He is an embarrassment to public office in Nigeria. He speaks out of both sides of the mouth.. This is the same el-Rufai who once gate-crashed into one of NLC’s protests and pleaded to have NLC apron to be part of the protest.”

My take here is to further point out that crisis of governance is deepening in Nigeria. With “friendly fires” between him and numerous real and imagined enemies is my brother Governor really governing Kaduna state or governing serial (often self- inflicted!) crises of attritions?

Undoubtedly the relationship between NLC and Kaduna state government had degenerated since his controversial mass sack of about 22,000 teachers who allegedly scored below pass mark in a controversial competency test.

NLC and its affiliate unions in January marched in Kaduna in solidarity with the members of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) amidst unprecedented military/police presence. That is expected, the world of work is all about cooperation and contestation.

Even at that it beats my imagination that a governor in 21st century, (not 19th century colonial King Kong!) would up scale his ideological opposition to Labour almost to a full blown hate speech. It is “dangerous” (governor’s word) and certainly unhelpful to his government, his ruling party, APC (some of us voted for!) to make hostility against Labour a virtual policy. There is a bagful of El-Rufai’s Volte Face on a number of critical national issues including “Restructuring”.

He hitherto decried it only to emerge as a new restructuring enthusiast without an apology for his previous dismissal of the recommendations of 2014 National Conference which favored far reaching reform measures based on national consensus compared to the current partisan dictatorship.

It might be fashionable for the governor to relish in Labour bashing. But I recall that the governor had had mutually rewarding robust engagements with the labour movement with quotable quotes credited to both celebrating partnerships in governance.

As NLC General Secretary pointed out I was at the barricade in Abuja during the 2010 NLC strike and mass protests against fuel price hike during which then dissident citizen El-Rufai applauded Labour for providing platform for Nigerians to oppose unpopular policy of fuel price hike under Jonathan.

I recall the on-going partnership between him, Buhari administration and Labour to revive the closed textile mills. Indeed Governor El-Rufai in 2015 in Kaduna hosted the national conference of Textile, Garment and Tailoring workers’ union (together with Comrade Adams Oshihomole, then Edo governor), with adorned face cap singing workers’ solidarity song!

Indeed there was once “a Comrade El Rufai” who rightly saw unions as allies not “dangerous” bodies. Was it all about opportunism on his part or enduring principle to make positive impact in nation-building? This then raises the issue of capacity for governance.

Its time Nigerians demanded for competence test for all governors. Many governors of course parade multiple degrees, local and abroad. But most of them lack the “real degree”; leadership and strategic training to make a democracy work for the people.

Most governors even lack the knowledge of 1999 Constitution which informed their oath of office. Constitution defines us as citizens to be dignified, not slaves to be verbally abused. Indeed the constitution envisages dignity of labour. No private manager of a private company, no matter the provocation would ever describe his customers “irresponsible” if he wants to sell in the market!

I was scandalized that governor Rufai without measured temperament of an elected governor, tagged Nigerian doctors “irresponsible” for going on strike! Nigerian constitution and Labour laws recognize the right of any working man and woman to withdraw his or her service, including doctors in the face of violation of rights to decent work.

In May 2016, in England 37,000 junior doctors went on three strike actions and 3 years of contract negotiations with the National Health Service (NHS) on improved working conditions. Governor El rufai must be from another “ planet” (his word!) not to know that doctors’ strikes are globally acceptable practices.

Samuel Gompers puts it better; “Show me the country that has no strikes and I will show you the country in which there is no liberty.” Governor El rufai is certainly not Adolf Hitler! What should worry governor El rufai is the mass exodus ( sorry, “mass strike”) of thousands of doctors and nurses abroad due to abysmal working conditions and indignities at home. APC’s restructuring exercise is dead if the likes of ElRufai lack basic appreciation of the importance of labour as a factor of development and nation building.

He betrays gross ignorance of simple labour market issues (and indeed national development) by calling for the removal of labour from the Exclusive Legislative List. He even called for “Very Low” Minimum Wage (a grammatical overkill because “minimum” means “very low!). All 36 governors receive same minimum/maximum pay in spite of their miserable internally generated revenues.

No governor earns “very low minimum” pay! What is good for governors is good for a messenger and a cleaner. Nigeria cannot be part of the 20 leading developed economies without a development agenda that mainstreams labour motivation and productivity.

World-wide the laws which govern labour, capital and land as factors of production have significant impact on growth and development. Even predatory colonial Lord Lugard and military dictators or recent past eventually were compelled to recognize the importance of labour as a factor of production and development. The first Federal (note; not regional!) Ministry to be established was Federal Ministry of Labour in 1914. Colonial authority as well as post-independent Nigerian governments recognized that labour was a critical success factor for transformation.

Behind the celebrated miracle of Nigeria’s double digit growth plus development in the 60s and 80s were progressive labour laws regulating minimum wages and pensions as well as collective bargaining and industrial conflicts.

Given the current high level of youth unemployment, worsening poverty, unregulated immigration, foreign investment of dubious value and underdevelopment, rampant strikes and industrial conflicts, more than ever before Nigeria needs a Federally managed (not deregulated) labour process.

Since humanity rightly banished slave trade (with prescribed punishment for slave traders!), Labour is no more a commodity to be verbally hired and fired as El Rufai gleefully threatened to summarily sack lecturers of Kaduna state University if they dare go on “ASUU strike”.

Labour markets “are socially embedded” for those that care. Labour markets harness human energies. They rely on human motivations, care, understanding, dignity and above all fairness failing which you get no production. Labour creates wealth. I enjoin governor el-Rufai to consciously cultivate Labour as partner in development process through social dialogue not endless “fire” with attendant “fury” .

• Comrade Aremu, mni, is a member of the National Executive Council of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)

For the umpteenth time, suspected herdsmen, this disguised time in military uniforms, were reported to have invaded yet another community on Wednesday in the North-central geopolitical zone, killing no fewer than 25 persons in the process.  

The latest attacks, which took place in the Oganienugwu and Ikende communities in Dekina Local Government Area and Abejukolo in Omala Local Government Area of Kogi State, came two years after a similar onslaught when sectarian violence led to the death of four herders and an unspecified number of their livestock. 

In the Wednesday attack, the herdsmen were said to have fled from Benue State where they were being overwhelmed by the security forces. 

It was alleged that the herdsmen arrived in boats via the River Benue with firearms such as AK47 rifles, machetes and other dangerous weapons, and embarked on a shooting and killing spree. They also razed houses in the communities.

An eyewitness, who spoke to THISDAY thursday, said the suspected Fulani herdsmen dressed in military uniforms took the Oganenigu community by surprise, adding that the herdsmen numbering in hundreds, burned down over 20 houses in the community.

He alleged that they slaughtered people, including the four family members of a police officer, and shot at those who tried to escape into the nearby bush.

Another community in Dekina Local Government Area, Iyale, was also attacked by the herdsmen. Two persons were reportedly killed during the invasion on Iyale. 

Also, in Omala LGA, the herdsmen invade Abejukolo community killing an unspecified number of persons.  It was gathered that in Abejukolo, one Joshua Angulu, was slaughtered by the assailants during the attack.  

There were also reports that another set of suspected herdsmen had crossed into Omala through the River Benue from Nasarawa State.  

They were said to have camped in the Obakume Forest, preparing for the attacks on Abejukolo and adjoining villages. 

The Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mr. Monday Bala while speaking with reporters yesterday, confirmed the attacks, but said they could not give a number on the casualties.  

He said that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Aliyu Janga, deployed mobile policemen in the troubled communities to restore law and order.

Senate Condemns Killings

Reacting to the gruesome attacks, the Senate thursday condemned the killing of at least 25 persons in Dekina and Omala Local Government Areas of Kogi State by suspected herdsmen.

It also urged President Muhammadu Buhari to issue an order to the Inspector General of Police, Mr. Ibrahim Idris and heads of other security agencies to quickly move in and apprehend the perpetrators of the attacks.

The lawmakers also demanded stronger action from Buhari and his security chiefs to tackle the insecurity ravaging different parts of the country.

Senator Ali Aidoko (Kogi, APC), in a motion at plenary, said the security agencies were informed when the herdsmen were camped nearby before the attacks began, but no action was taken

“Whole communities were razed, villages evacuated and the new dimension to it now is that people are being maimed. They would catch women, cut their hands and let them go,” he said.

Aidoko expressed shock that there had been no reaction from the Kogi State Government. 

“Of course they will say issues of security are the responsibility of the federal government. This is why I am calling on the president, as he has the power to deploy troops,” he said, insisting that the situation was beyond the capacity of the police.

Senator Dino Melaye (Kogi, APC) said the level of attacks had shown gross incompetence at both the federal and state levels.

“We expected this to happen when the governor (Yahaya Bello) said anywhere they chase a Fulani man away, he should come to Kogi. So today, some criminals capitalised on the verbal diarrhoea of the governor,” Melaye said.

Melaye, who has been engaged in a running battle with Bello, called on the president to summon the governor over the situation in Kogi.

“He (Buhari) must show aggressive capacity, this normal approach cannot work. Whether they are Yoruba or Fulani, a criminal is a criminal and should be treated that way,” Melaye added. 

Senator Emmanuel Paulkner (Bayelsa, PDP) said Buhari must not be complacent and must take decisive action.

Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia, PDP) was much more critical of the president when he described Buhari as a “president that does not know anything”.

“I agree that we should work with the executive arm of government, but this executive has it accepted responsibility? We have a president that says, ‘I didn’t know my IG did not follow my order. I didn’t know that this happened,” he said.

At this point, Abaribe was interrupted by the Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, who said his colleague had digressed from the subject matter and was talking about the president who “has shown concern by visiting Taraba, Benue and Dapchi”.

Abaribe, however, maintained he could speak about the president who is in charge of security. 

“I am keeping my contribution to security and the Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) is in charge of security, but the C-in-C says he does not know anything, then we have to wonder if the issue of security is in the right hands.

“Let us beg this president to take responsibility for one thing so that we can be safe in Nigeria,” Abaribe added.

Adopting the prayer of the motion, the Senate urged the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) to provide relief for the persons displaced by the attacks in Kogi.

Benue Holds Mass Burial

Also in neighbouring Benue State, Governor Samuel Ortom yesterday decried the level of bloodshed in his state due to the atrocities of the herdsmen.

He spoke at St. Bernard’s Primary School, Ugwu-Okpoga in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, during the mass funeral held in honour of 26 victims of herdsmen attacks on Omusu and Okana communities last week.

The state on January 11 held a mass burial for 73 other victims of herdsmen attacks on new year day.

He reiterated his call on the security agencies to arrest the leadership of Miyetti Allah Kautal Hore, whom he said were the sponsors of the killings in the state, based on the comments credited to them and published by various media houses.

The governor, while condoling with the bereaved families, said the arrest of the herdsmen would bring an end to the massacre of Benue people.

He stated that the Open Grazing Prohibition and Ranches Establishment Law had come to stay in Benue, noting that there was no land for open grazing and crop farming to go on concurrently.

Ortom assured Benue people that his administration would continue to respond swiftly to the security challenges, adding that data was being gathered for compensation for damages caused by herdsmen attacks in Benue.

In separate remarks, the deputy governor, Mr. Benson Abouno, deputy speaker of the state assembly, Mr. James Okefe, and the representative of Bishop Apochi, Rev. Fr. John Attah, among others, conveyed their appreciation to Ortom for his support to the bereaved families and pledged their support for the ranching law.

On their part, the three socio-cultural groups in the state, represented by Mr. Omele Amali, and the representative of Movement Against Fulani Occupation (MAFO), Mr. Dave Ogbole, said they saw the attacks coming and reported to the relevant authorities but nothing was done to avert the massacre.

While expressing disappointment with the federal government over its inactions towards the killings, Ogbole called on the international community to rise up and stop a repeat of Rwanda in Nigeria, adding that the decision by Benue people to remain law-abiding should not be mistaken for cowardice.

In his sermon, chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Benue State chapter, Rev. Akpen Leva, prayed to God to grant the governor and the entire Benue people the strength to overcome the menace of herdsmen attacks.

The chairman of Okpokwu Local Government Council, Mr. Olofu Francis Ogwuche, while condemning the killings, called on well-meaning Nigerians and international bodies to assist those who have been displaced by the attacks. 

He called for more security forces to be deployed in Benue in order to secure all the local government from further attacks.

‘Declare Them Terrorists’

Also reacting yesterday to the incessant gruesome attacks by suspected herders of livestock in several parts of the country, Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka called on the president to declare the marauding herdsmen terrorists just like he did to the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB).

Soyinka wondered why Buhari has not declared the herdsmen responsible for the recent killings across Nigeria terrorists.

Speaking during a dialogue organised by Ripples Nigeria in Lagos, the Nobel laureate said if IPOB could earn the terrorist organisation tag from the Buhari-led federal government, there was no reason why the Miyetti Allah, the umbrella body of herdsmen in Nigeria, should not be slapped with a similar label.

“Our Minister of Defence shot himself in the mouth when he made excuses for the herdsmen by saying, ‘What do you want them to do when squatters are sitting on their land?’ It is very shameful that the Minister of Defence is still serving in Buhari’s government,” Soyinka said.

In an hour-long speech titled, “Miyetti to Haiti; Notes from a Solidarity Visit,” Soyinka could not hide his disgust over what he considered excuses being made for the killer herdsmen.

The drying up of the Lake Chad has been blamed for the violent inclinations of the herdsmen, but Soyinka was having none of it.

“When I read of untenable explanations like Lake Chad is receding… water is drying up… I don’t want to hear about all these ridiculous excuses. Nature has been kind to us. We don’t have earthquakes in Nigeria,” Soyinka lamented.

The Nobel laureate said during a visit to an earthquake-ravaged Haiti, herdsmen had neither sticks nor AK-47s. He wondered why the herdsmen roaming Nigeria have been allowed to bear arms.

“I used to wonder whether to call them Fulani herdsmen or not. But now I can call them Fulani herdsmen because they have identified themselves as Fulani herdsmen,” Soyinka said.

Soyinka also took on Buhari for attending a wedding in Kano just days after terrorists abducted 110 schoolgirls in Dapchi, Yobe State.

Soyinka has been very critical of the Buhari administration and its handling of the security challenges bedevilling the country in recent times.

Other speakers at the event included former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi and Dr Abiola Akiyode-Afolabi of the Transition Monitoring Group.

Thisdaylive 

The House of Representatives says having passed a vote of no confidence on the Minister of Mines and Steel Development, Kayode Fayemi, it no longer has any business with him and does not regard him as a ‘Honourable Minister’.

The House also mandated its ad-hoc committee on Ajaokuta Steel Complex to consider the possibility of a Bill for an Act to provide for the completion of the Ajaokuta Steel Company and prohibit its concessioning before the completion.

The lawmakers took these decisions on Thursday after resolving to probe the engagement of PriceWaterHouseCoopers (PwC) by the minister to audit the steel complex towards concessioning it.

The decisions arose from a motion by Ahmed Yarima (Bauchi-APC) and 24 others.

Moving the motion, Mr. Yarima said the firm engaged to audit the steel company, PwC, is globally discredited, having been sanctioned in many countries, including India which banned it for two years for infractions of over $1 billion.

He said the firm was also sanctioned in Brazil and paid $50 million as fine, as well as being fined £5.1 million in the United Kingdom in the largest ever sanction imposed by the UK regulator.

“They paid $225 million and $25 million respectively as fines to TYCO shareholders in the U.S and Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi, where it was implicated for money laundering for Iran, Sudan, and Myanmar, blacklisted for roles in terrorism and human rights abuses; among other infractions and irregularities in their operations, which has left its reputation in tatters,” he said.

Mr. Yarima said there were allegations that the company was informally engaged by Global Steel to assist and advise it on how to recover Ajaokuta Steel Company and National Iron Ore Company, (NIOMCO) Itakpe from the Nigerian government in 2012 at the onset of negotiations.

He added the company’s antecedents suggest it was engaged to audit and prepare a skewed report in favour of parties the Minister has interest or of its former clients, GINL.

“The Bureau of Public Enterprises and the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission both mandated by law under the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (Establishment, etc.) Act, 2005 and the Public Enterprises (Privatisation and Commercialisation) Act 2004, respectively have not been involved or engaged in the audit and concessioning process adopted by the Minister of Mines and Steel Development,” Mr. Yarima stated.

 

 

He alleged that Mr. Fayemi also appointed as transaction adviser, Greenwich Trust Ltd, a firm he said is headed by the wife of the minister’s political mentor, without the input of BPE and ICRC.

He said the minister also turned down other options suggested for the steel complex other than concessioning.

“Almost two years since NIOMCO, Itakpe was again handed over to Global Steel in the so-called modified concession agreement for a seven-year period with an option of a further 10 years, the plant which is integrated with Ajaokuta Steel Complex has remained moribund, which signposts the likely failure of yet another concession,” the lawmaker stated in his motion.

Adopting the motion, the House mandated its ad-hoc committee on Ajaokuta Steel Complex to include the urgent consideration of the possibility of a Bill for an Act to Provide for the Completion of Ajaokuta Steel Company and Prohibit the Concessioning thereof prior to its Completion.

It also resolved to expand the mandate of the ad-hoc committee to further inquire into why Mr. Fayemi engaged a globally-discredited firm, in auditing Ajaokuta Steel Complex without due process and in spite of the fact that the firm had been indicted and punished in many jurisdictions.

The committee was also mandated to inquire into the nature of the conflict of interest that may have arisen on account of the minister appointing a firm headed by wife of political mentor to serve as transaction adviser for the complex.

The House urged President Muhammadu Buhari to stop Mr. Fayemi from proceeding further with concessioning processes of the steel complex, pending a review ordered by the House.

The minister and the House of Representatives have repeatedly disagreed on government’s plan to concession the oldest uncompleted steel company in the country.

The Speaker of the House, Yakubu Dogara, after visiting Ajaokuta said the reason the steel company had not been completed was leadership problem, saying sourcing about $500million estimated to be required to complete the company should not be a problem.

 

 

Mr. Dogara said the required fund could be sourced through the Sovereign Wealth Fund, Excess Crude Account and recovered financial crimes loots.

He said even if it means borrowing the money, the House would give its approval.

The House recently organized a sectoral debate on the steel industry in Nigeria but Mr. Fayemi did not participate.

The minister, through his spokesperson said he duly notified the house of his inability to attend prior to the debate.

But the House described the notice as a ‘deliberate boycott’ of the event and passed a vote of no confidence on Mr. Fayemi and the minister of state in the ministry, Bawa Bwari.

In another statement on Thursday, Mr. Fayemi responded to the decision of the lawmakers.

“Whilst the ministers are convinced the honourable members mean well as patriots concerned about an important national asset, it is also a fact that they have grossly misunderstood the ministers and other stakeholders working with the ministry on this exercise,” the minister’s spokesperson, Olayinka Oyebode, said in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES.

“In view of this and the need to set the record straight for the sake of the general public and the investing community, it is important to state as follows:

· The Ministry of Mines and Steel Development has not contracted any transactional adviser for the concessioning of Ajaokuta Steel Company, as wrongly asserted by the House.

· The process for the appointment of a Transactional Adviser is on, but cannot be completed until it gets the approval of the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

· The Ministry has not spent a dime from the N2,096,500.00 (Two billion, ninety six million, five hundred thousand naira ) appropriated by the House for the concessioning of Ajaokuta Steel Company (in the 2017 Appropriation Law).

· The mediation process that led to the amicable settlement of the legal encumbrances on Ajaokuta Steel Complex has not ended. There are still a few more steps to be taken as outlined in the terms of (out of court) settlement. And the Ministry is following up on this.

· It is also important to state that no one has been hired.

· We find it rather worrisome that the House of Representatives could devote an entire day to an issue that has not even arisen.

“The ministry remains committed to making Ajaokuta Steel Plant function effectively, convinced that steel remains the most important engineering material and backbone of industrialisation in any economy.”

PT

The National Judicial Council, NJC, has recommended the compulsory retirement of the Chief Judge of Abia state, Theresa Uzokwe, after it was discovered that she received N825,000 to rule in favour of a litigant and subsequently signed a garnishee order for N109, 612, 500.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the spokesman of the NJC, Soji Oye, stated that the council also recommended the retirement of a judge of the Abia State High Court, Obisike Oji.

He disclosed that “stern warnings” were issued to Justice SE Aladetoyinbo of the FCT High Court and Justice Olusola Ajibike Williams of the Lagos state High Court.

According to the statement, “Hon. Justice Theresa Uzokwe was recommended for compulsory retirement following the findings of two investigative committees set up by the council.

“The committees investigated petitions against her by Umeh Kalu, SAN, attorney-general/commissioner for justice of Abia state, alleging illegal constitution and working with a parallel judicial service commission instead of the one constituted by the state governor and confirmed by the house of assembly.

“Hon. Mr Justice Uzokwe was also found to have misconducted himself in Suit No. HU/131/2005, wherein he delivered judgement in the sum of N825, 000 only in favour of a litigant, but subsequently signed a garnishee order of N109, 612, 500.

“Hon. Mr Justice Obisike Oji was earlier queried by the Council for allowing himself to be sworn-in as acting chief judge, and thereby colluding in, and aiding an unconstitutional process. His reply was unsatisfactory and the Council recommended his compulsory retirement.

“The NJC reprimanded, seriously warned and placed on the Watch List Hon Justice S. E. Aladetoyinbo of the FCT High Court for impropriety in a case between U.L.O. Consultants Ltd v BIL Construction Nigeria Ltd, sequel to a petition by one Uche Luke Okpuno. Council would have sanctioned the Judge more severely but had to take into account the fact that aspects of the case are appealable.

“Council also seriously warned Hon Justice Olusola Ajibike Williams of the Lagos State High Court for grave errors of judgment in her level of involvement in a family business. Council found that the Judge, as a judicial officer, should have been more circumspect and conscious of her office. Council’s sanction was as a result of a petition by Chief Ladi Rotimi-Williams, SAN.”

The NJC, according to Oye, also resolved to set up three investigative committees to consider petitions written against one justice of the Supreme Court and two state chief judges.

The spokesman added that the council dismissed various petitions written against 31 judicial officers.

“Council decided to refer a petition by prince Adesina Okuneye against Hon. Mr. Justice Mwada Balami of the FCT High Court to the Police to investigate the allegation of N5 million bribe to the Judge for granting bail to an accused person.

“Council decided that the petition should be put in abeyance until the outcome of the investigation by the police.

“Council at the meeting also recommended 60 judicial officers to governors of 24 for appointment as high court judges, Sharia court kadis and customary court of appeal judges,” the statement read.

Recalls that the NJC had stated that the, “purported voluntary retirement” of a Federal High Court judge, Adeniyi Ademola, was an afterthought as Council had taken action before his decision to forward any voluntary retirement letter.

DailyPost 

Acting Executive Secretary of the Border Communities Development Agency (BCDA) Mrs Victoria Tayo Odumosu is still in service because she falsified her date of birth in 2016 by changing it from July 6, 1956 to July 6, 1960, according to a report sent to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo by BCDA’s former Executive Secretary, Engr. Numoipre Wills. 

In the memo, dated November 9, 2017, Wills said Odumosu should have retired from the federal service in 2016 but that she used her position as BCDA’s Head of Administration “to falsify, alter and or manipulate her records in order to attain her purported directorship and seniority in this agency.” 

The furore began in November last year when Wills vacated office that month following the expiration of his second term in office. He handed over the agency to Alhaji Faruk Maiturare, Deputy Director and Head of Project Development and Implementation Department. 

Two days later, Dr. R.P. Ugo, Permanent Secretary, General Services Office wrote to Engr Wills on behalf of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and directed him to hand over instead to Mrs Odumosu “who is the only Director in the agency based on your Nominal Roll as at October 2017.” 

In his reply to the Vice President through the SGF dated November 9, 2017 Wills said, “I was constrained to hand over to Alhaji Maiturare, a fellow of NIOB who is a builder by profession with the requisite expertise, experience, and core competencies is necessary for the leadership of an organisation such as BCDA whose primary mandate is the provision of socio-economic infrastructure to border communities. 

“In addition, it was recently discovered that Mrs Victoria Tayo Odumosu being paraded as the most senior in the Agency has been involved in falsification of records which is a serious misconduct punishable by dismissal under Sections 030401-030402 of the Public Service Rules 2008 Edition.”

Copies of BCDA’s Staff Nominal Roll for 2010, 2011, 2012, and 2014, all of which our reporter saw, listed 6/7/1956 as her date of birth. Mrs Odumosu went to work at BCDA from the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Jos in 2010. ITF’s Seniority List with Qualification for 2009, which our reporter also saw, as well as the officer’s Record of Service in File 02817 at ITF both listed her date of birth as 6/7/1956. 

Dramatically however, according to Wills, Odumosu’s date of birth changed to 6/7/1960 in BCDA’s Staff Nominal Rolls for 2016 and 2017, which she prepared as Head of Administration, and which our reporter also saw. 

Daily Trust further learnt that Mrs Odumosu tried to change the date of birth on her international passport but this was rejected by the Nigeria Immigration Service [NIS]. A letter addressed to the Chairman, Senate Committee on States and Local Government Administration dated January 2, 2018, signed by NIS Comptroller General Muhammad Babandede, which our reporter saw, said “(Odumosu) applied for change of date of birth from 1956 to 1960 based on her purported record of service presented for her request. However, a document presented proved that she could not be born in 1960 because she sat for her WASC in 1973 and her Grade Two Teachers Certificate in 1975 which should have been 13 and 15 years respectively.” 

Babandede said “in the light of the above, this fraudulent attempt to change her date of birth did not also conform to her previous MRP passport No AO4389378 which confirmed her date of birth to be 1956. Thus, the request was rejected and the reissue was done with the same date of birth.”

Daily Trust learnt that even though she was not issued with an appointment letter, Mrs. Odumosu has since taken over from Alhaji Faruk Maiturare as BCDA’s acting Executive Secretary pending the appointment of a substantive head for the agency. 

Another source at the Accountant General’s office told our reporter that Odumosu must have succeeded in changing her date of birth at the AG’s office because the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) of the Federal Government automatically stops a civil servant’s salary as soon as he or she clocks 60 years of age.

For over a week, Daily Trust had tried to obtain a comment for the story from Mrs Odumosu, but without any success. Last week, when our reporter called her, she said she was away. Immediately after speaking to her on phone Saturday, a lawyer called Daily Trust threatening litigation should we go-ahead to publish the story.

The lawyer came back on Monday and said the lady was on tour but she will be back on Thursday.  Thereafter, the lawyer took our reporter to the agency’s office and met Mrs Odumosu. 

Despite the meeting, Mrs Odumosu declined to respond to the story. On Tuesday, our reporter sent a text message to her mobile phone as a reminder, but without any response. 

The next day, BCDA’s chief press officer Mrs Akpohwaye R. Atarhe visited Daily Trust’s head office and promised to provide their reaction before the close of work yesterday. But the spokesperson never did as of last night. However, the director of information in the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (OSGF), Mr Lawrence Ojabo, told Daily Trust the matter has been resolved amicably. 

He said, “I have found the allegations to be false. The matter was amicably resolved between the accused and the accuser, who (the accuser) apologized over his role in the unwarranted and fabricated scandal.” 

DailyTrust 

The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Uche Secondus has said the All Progressives Congress (APC) was scared of going into the 2019 election.

He declared that the ruling party knows it was staring at defeat.

Secondus said this when Bayelsa Governor Seriake Dickson and his reconciliation committee submitted their recommendations to him in Abuja on Thursday.

He said the APC had become a threat to national security and declared the resolve of his leadership to galvanise Nigerians to displace the APC.

The chairman boasted that the PDP under his leadership has been rebranded and repositioned, stressing that the recent PDP rally in Jigawa, an APC state was a testimony to the fact that Nigerians now own the PDP.

“The APC is a threat to national security. The APC-led Federal Government is broken. The APC has so disunited our people and Nigerians no longer trust it.

“Only the PDP rekindles hope; the party represents the labour of our heroes past; only PDP can secure and keep this country united.

“That is why our emphasis is on returning the party to Nigerians especially women and youths and I want to seize this opportunity to call on all Nigerians including those who have left us to return to the party.

“PDP belongs to all Nigerians and our party is the only party that is not owned by an individual or a cabal. We shall provide level-playing field for all aspirants to actualise their ambitions unhindered.

“We are ready to bend backward to accommodate everybody including those who have left us. The PDP is ready for a robust arrangement to lead other political parties to form government at all levels to banish hunger, insecurity, nepotism and clannishness from Nigeria!

“The 2019 general election is a referendum on the survival of the country. APC and INEC will try to rig but they cannot succeed. Nigerians will resist them,” he said.

Senators yesterday told the Federal Government to take immediate steps to tackle increasing insecurity in parts of the country to avoid unpleasant consequences to the corporate existence of the country.

The lawmakers specifically warned that the country may become a failed state if speedy measures were not taken to address the wanton destruction of lives and property in parts of the country.

The visibly angry senators’ remarks followed a motion of national urgent importance by Senator Atai Ali Aidoko (Kogi East) on the killing of over 32 people in Omale and Dekina Local Government Areas of Kogi State.

Aidoko told his colleagues that the victims were slaughtered on Wednesday in most gruesome manner.

The Kogi East lawmaker said that 20 people were killed in Ogane-Enugu community in Dekina, while 12 others were killed in Agbejukolo, Agbenema communities in Omala Local Government Area of the state.

He lamented: “Despite continued condemnation of killings in many parts of the country, perpetrators of this dastardly act have not been arrested. I want this Senate to urge President Muhammadu Buhari to direct security agencies to bring the situation under control by arresting the perpetrators and ensure that they are prosecuted. This killing is taking another dimension as the killers also amputate peoples’ hands and leave them to go. That is purely genocide which has crept into the killings.”

Senate Emmanuel Paulker (Bayelsa) in his contribution noted that there was no doubt the country was gradually descending a failed state.

Paulker added that there was equally no doubt that the government has lost count of the number of Nigerians killed everyday by armed herdsmen.

The lawmaker warned that if urgent measures were not taken to address the grave situation, the country would surely run into serious crisis.

Paulker said that policing of communities should be taken serious in the interest of Nigerians.

Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, who also contributed noted that the Senate should worked closely with the executive to salvage the situation.

Lawan who just returned from Zamfara State where he toured crisis hit areas said that the effectiveness of security agencies in combating crime in the country shoul.d be worked on and improved

The Yobe State lawmaker, who also posited that security agencies in the country were overstretched, insisted that it was a matter of concern that the number of policemen guarding communities in the country were grossly inadequate.

He wondered how effect security could be in a population of about five million, “you have only 300 policemen guarding the area in the same area over 300 bandits will attack a particular place”

Senator Eyinnaya Abaribe, in his contribution blamed President Muhammadu Buhari for alleged inaction.

The Abia South lawmaker said that it was obvious that the President is not in charge.

Abaribe also frowned at the President “frequent bulk passing and trading in blame game.”

He said that President Buhari does not take responsibility whenever anything goes wrong in the country.

Abaribe noted that as Commander-In-Chief, President Buhari should coordinate the fight against activities of herdsmen.

He said, “The President is always passing blames. He blames every other person, but himself. He tells us every times that he does not know what is happening in the country. How can a President utter such words?

“If the President does not know what is happening in a country like Nigeria, how can we be safe? We should call the President to order and tell him to do his job he was elected to do. He should stop claiming that he does not know what is happening and do the needful.”

It was obvious that Abaribe’s remarks did not go down well with some of his colleagues, especially members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Abaribe was interjected in the course of his contribution twice.

The interjection led to a near upheaval on the floor of the upper chamber.

Senators Lawan and Gbenga Ashafa raised Point of Order to pray the Senate President, Abubakar  Bukola Saraki to call Abaribe to order.

Lawan and Ashafa pointed out that Abaribe left the substance of the motion under consideration to attack President Buhari.

Senator James Manager on his part blamed the killings on non-arrest and prosecution of the perpetrators.

Manager said, “Societies have evolved and there is law and order, when somebody who commits a crime is caught, he should be punished to serve as deterrent to others.”

Senator Adamu Aliero sought the immediate implementation of recommendations of the National Security summit recently organised by the Senate, in conjunction with the Presidency.

He said that a meeting with security agencies some weeks ago revealed that the police is overstretched.

He said that the need to recruit more hands as well as increase the funding of the police was raised.

Saraki in his remarks condemned the killings. Saraki noted that prevailing situation was completely unacceptable.

He said, “The Senate would work towards finding solutions to insecurity in the country. Let us be patriotic because this situation is unacceptable.’’

The Nation 

Corruption and the fight against it are as old as man. Over the years, what might have changed are the methods of acquiring the ill-gotten wealth as well as our approach to the fight. With our burgeoning population and the explosion in the number of those who have been exposed to Western education, things could not remain the same. We have seen it all – the good, the bad and the ugly.

We started hearing of real massive acquisition of wealth in the First Republic – after our nominal Independence. Authorities were disturbed and they set up Commissions of Inquiry, which came up with sordid revelations of how crude the original methods were. Funds were siphoned from the public till with the award of contracts to cronies, under fictitious names. Agreements for such fictitious contracts were signed, in some cases, with tow-prints instead of finger-prints to avoid detection.

As the population grew in size, it also grew in crime and criminality. The sordid affair was wide-spread. For example, at a very junior level in the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, a staff who narrowly missed out in the year’s promotion exercise expressed his annoyance this way: “Promotion or no promotion, I know I am richer than the CBN Governor”.  Why not?

The young lad was attached to the section of the CBN charged with the destruction of old currency notes. They burnt all the old exercise books and newspapers they could collect; and hauled home the currency notes that were intended for destruction.

In the military, people paid millions to influence their posting to the Pay and Records Corps, which in local parlance, was better known as “Pay and Roll” because they paid a few living soldiers and rolled the balance into their personal pockets. Here, the more of our soldiers that died in the war, the higher their profits. It was understandable, therefore, that deliberate efforts were made to push more and more of the inexperienced soldiers to the war front to perish. And we still wondered why the war was increasingly difficult!

It is not unusual to find some single individuals in such Blue Chips like the Customs, NNPC, Pension Boards, etc., who became virtually richer than their Organizations.

No section of our government has been spared in all this. From the First Republic to the present, our immediate reaction has been to seize the assets of those accused of corruption and that is where the zero-sum game begins.

There was this Uncle of ours who was a top Military brass. We once accosted him of why he was selling off the assets he acquired during his service years. He explained that he was tired of having the property OFF and ON – one day, an administration would come and seize the assets; and another day, a friendly regime would come and hand the same assets back to him. The assets kept travelling back and forth.

When the assets got back to him again, he decided to sell them so that any subsequent administration that might want to seize them would find that they were only confiscating assets that belonged entirely to a different person.

The war against corruption is such that if not carefully handled, it could trigger off worse corruption on the part of those fighting it! Undoubtedly, Nigeria today has a man, President Muhammadu Buhari, who is totally allergic to corruption, at the helm of affairs. The fight against corruption has been vigorous. We hear that various assets have been seized from numerous offenders.

A few days ago, in a meeting with Elders in Daura, Katsina State, President Buhari averred that the confiscated assets will soon be sold off and the proceeds paid into the Treasury Single Account, TSA, if only as a way of averting the assets finding their ways back to their original owners after he leaves office.

We have consistently maintained that the only panacea for the success of the anti-graft war is full disclosure. For now, the success or otherwise of that noble fight is simply a matter for conjecture – nobody outside the Presidency and the EFCC knows exactly what is happening. From a distance, it may be impossible to know the fine details about why certain steps are shrouded in secrecy.

All the same, fair is fair. Nigerians cannot escape the crucial moments when they must demand that full disclosure and transparency are the panacea for the success of the anti-graft war. We have insisted consistently that the people must be regularly informed of what have been recovered along with the names of the people from whom the recoveries were made. How else do we know where the recoveries belong? For example, any asset recovered from the Governor or any functionary of a State belongs to the State. It would be inappropriate to plough such recoveries into the TSA for redistribution to all.

Full disclosure also presupposes that there is a proper inventory of all the assets that are being confiscated. The inventory must be regularly up-dated and made open to the citizenry. This full disclosure and accountability is in the interest of the government and the governed.

It is not enough to reel out the amounts – N78.325 billion; $185 million; £ 3.508 million; and €11,250 as the recoveries between May 2015 and May 2016. This account is deficient in many ways: The recoveries lack details; and they are out-dated. What has been collected in the more than 20 months since June 2016? In fact, the account should be up-dated at the end of every month.

More than ever before, the plan to sell the assets is a call for full disclosure and transparency. The assets must be properly evaluated by renowned Estate and Quantity Surveyors. The sale and purchase of the property cannot be another job for the boys.

And if there are cases where disposals should be delayed because of some legal encumbrances, we also deserve to know. The end of anything is more important than the beginning. It is more so in the anti-graft war!