Ekweremadu On State Police

Ike Ekweremadu. Image: Twitter

BY GABRIEL AMALU

The flurry of meetings by governors of the southeast, south-south and northeast zones, to establish regional security outfits, akin to the south-west experiment, was predicted by this column. Last week, as the legislative assemblies in southwest states were simultaneously passing the security network bills, otherwise known as Amotekun, the governors of south-south met in Asaba, to plan a regional security initiative. Of note, the media projected the Amotekun laws as not authorising the bearing of arms by the security outfit.

Each state will subsequently apply to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to authorise its outfit to bear arms. Of course, by the provision of the Firearms Act, Cap F28, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, the IGP has powers to authorise the bearing of certain categories of arms, while the authority to bear more sophisticated firearms can only be granted by the president. So, the arms with which the various mutating security outfits will use to defend their states will depend on the discretionary powers of federal office holders, not law.

Well, Amotekun, according to knowledgeable insiders may also rely on traditional methods, like charms and magic, to defend and ward off armed bandits, and kidnappers. I look forward to when eminent office holders, visiting the states in the region, would ask the regular police to hand over their protection to these security outfits relying on charms and amulets. Well, in fairness to the promoters of the zonal security network, the outfit will also gather intelligence for the police and other security agencies.

But will the proposed state security outfits and the touted collaboration deal the needed heavy blow to the high level of insecurity across the states in the country? I doubt. While this column is not an authority in African mysticism, to gauge the efficiency of charms, amulets and magic; my father who worked with the correctional services, before fakes took over our everyday lives, (may God rest his beautiful soul) told me that such things were ineffective when government wants to enforce law and order.

Going forward, a more plausible answer to the grave challenges of insecurity trying to torpedo our dear country, should be a further amendment of the 1999 constitution, the Police Act, and the Firearms Act, to allow a shared policing power between the federating units and the central authority. Why state governors are excitedly working hard to convince the people they govern that oranges and apples are one and the same, instead of demanding for powers to buy apples, which they know is what is needed by their people, beguiles this column.

Perhaps, the art of governance includes playing the ostrich? Interestingly, the former deputy senate president, and the senator representing Enugu West, Senator Ike Ekweremadu, has presented a bill seeking relevant amendments to enable the federating units – the states, share policing responsibility with the federal government. Except the governors are merely grandstanding about confronting the crisis facing them as chief security officers of their states, they should all latch on the Ekweremadu bill, to deal the challenge a heavy blow.

Of note, sections 214, 215 and 216, of the 1999 constitution (as mended), which provides on the Nigeria Police Force, is very jealous of the creation of another police force. Section 214, magisterially provides: “There shall be a Police Force for Nigeria, which shall be known as the Nigeria Police Force, and subject to the provisions of this section no other police force shall be established for the federation or any other part thereof.”

To completely emasculate and embarrass the federating units, section 215(4) first provides: “subject to the provisions of this section, the governor of a state or such commissioner of the government of the state as he may authorise in that behalf, may give to the commissioner of police of that state such lawful directions with respect to the maintenance and securing of public safety and public within the state as he may consider necessary, and the commissioner of police shall comply with these directions or cause them to be complied with.”

But in a proviso, the power seemingly donated by the constitution was desecrated. It says: “Provided that before carrying out any such direction under the foregoing provisions of this subsection the Commissioner of Police may request that the matter be referred to the President or such Minister of the Government of the federation as may be authorised in that behalf by the President for his directions.” Such a nebulous provision, can be relied upon by the commissioner of police, for instance, when a state government wakes him up, that a village is under attack by herdsmen.

To make this anomalous proviso secure and inviolable, subsection (5) provides: “The question whether any, and if so what, directions have been given under this section shall not be inquired into in any court.” So, while the establishment of an alternative police is unlawful, if the president and his IGP decides to make the governor of the state miserable with respect to use of the federal police in the state to maintain security of lives and property, the constitution provides them opportunity to lawfully do so.

To put concrete on the emasculation of the federating units to provide reasonable security by themselves, the Firearms Act seals their fate. Of the three categories of firearms, referred to in sections 3, 4, and 5 of the Act, the governor cannot authorise the licencing of any. Section 3, which deals with category of firearms in the schedule part l, authorises the president to issue licence at his discretion, while section 4 which deals with personal arms, listed in Part ll of the schedule.

It is with respect to the firearms listed in the Part lll of the schedule referred as muzzle loading guns, that the Commissioner of Police is expected to consult with the governor to issue licences. How the regional security outfits will use the muzzle loading guns to confront the bearers of AK-47, not to talk of the self-loading RPGs which has flooded our country is anybody’s guess. To compound the dire security situation, the ineffective security networks and absence of federal police in the remote villages across the country, makes the villages sitting ducks for the dare-devil criminals working to upend our country.

Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna State acknowledged his helplessness some days ago, when 51 indigenes of his state where mercilessly massacred by bandits. While his apology is appreciated, uncharacteristically, he didn’t offer a solution to the menace. Perhaps, apologies will now replace the condolences we have been used to getting from ineffective state authorities. To change the paradigm, the bill sponsored by Senator Ekweremadu, makes a lot of sense.

ABUCHI ILOANYA: Enterprise And Growing The Abutex Brand

Abuchi Vinbcent Iloanya. Image: Facebook

Abuchi Vincent Iloanya started and established the Abutex Food Equipment company some four years ago, headquartered in Alaba International Market, Lagos State, after he gained ‘freedom’ or graduated from a master he served for six years. He was under his big boss as an apprentice, like many young Igbo boys do, learning the rudiments of the food equipment business.

Of course, he wanted to be like his master but had a different idea on how the business could be fine tuned to keep in line with the demands and pace of the digital age. He knew to keep with the evolving markets, he had to employ the Information and Communications Technology approach which he embraced with both arms. Then Jiji and OLX presented him the opportunity he wanted.

“My business expanded long time ago using Jiji and OLX for marketing tools. But it expanded and blew the moment I started using Instagram. Instagram has been a blessing to me, I won’t lie.

Instagram brought my business out there and connected me to so many big people in the society. Celebrities and politicians all patronize me, all thanks to my mentor, Mark Zuckerbek,” he said in a recent interview.

The business, grew in leaps and bounds because Abuchi Iloanya, beyond making use of social media tools applied the best ethics of business which is evident in their vision and mission statement.

“A passion for professional equipment. We are passionate about our each and every piece of our equipment. Our highly trained technicians are constantly working to develop new and more
efficient systems and processes.

All our machinery either meet or exceed international standards.
A long-term approach for our products. Each product purchased from Abutex comes with a long term commitment. We fully support all our machinery and back that up with warranties on all parts,” says a statement in their vision and mission booklet.

Abuchi Vincent Iloanya, the Managing Director of Abutex Food Equipment company was born in Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria on March 11, 1992. He is a native of Awkuzu in Oyi Local Goverment Area of Anambra State.

His company, Abutex Food Equipment company is Nigeria’s leading company in industrial kitchen equipment, with headquarters in Alaba International Market and an ultra modern showroom in Lekki Phase 1, all in Lagos.

He has also won many awards as an entrepreneur, including Abutex’s 2013 quality system certification. His company, Abutex has developed competences in a wide range of world standard quality products,complete services and self-innovation. From mixers to ovens,cooking equipment to refrigeration, Abutex Food Equipment has carved a niche for itself,

He finished his secondary school in 2008 at Showlight International School, Onitsha Anambra State but couldn’t go for university education because of financial difficulties. He has one elder sister and three younger brothers.

SOURCE: THE NATION

Catholic Church Annuls 30 Marriages Over Fake Birth Certificates, Deceits

Catholic Diocese of Orlu Pastoral Center, Imo State. Image: Image: Orlu Diocese

BY DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA

30 marriages allegedly contracted with fake certificates have been annulled in Imo.

The Catholic Diocese of Orlu in Imo State, which raised the alarm, lamented the rampant cases of people going into marriages with fake birth certificates.

The church said the certificates were responsible for the annulment.

Addressing the faithful during a Holy Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes Parish, Owerri-Ebiri in Orlu council area of the state, the Judicial Vicar of Orlu Catholic Diocese, Rev. Fr. Donsteve Nnagha, lamented most of the annulled marriages were on the grounds of deceits by spouses.

Fr. Nnagha, according to a Catholic newspaper, The Leader, added that deceits by spouse, which the other partner deems non-acceptable soon after wedding, had been a major cause of broken marriages in recent times.

The cleric listed other reasons behind annulment of marriages in recent times to include forgery in the birth certificate and other sensitive documents.

According to the priest, the acts, which had caused serious troubles in the family, were identified mostly with women.

“In this situation, the man has the legitimate right to file for annulment and this would a long way in bringing peace to both parties”, the Vicar is quoted as saying.

He added that birth certificate is equal to West Africa Examinations Council (WAEC) certificate, which cannot be altered, irrespective of the situation.

Nnagha also spoke on the importance of baptism, which he said Christ himself participated in, adding that is every baptism made in the Catholic Church, was always recorded and documented for future references.

He warned those involved in the acts of rewriting their age with a view of retaining their public offices to desist and retire from the civil service when they are due, so the younger could get jobs.

The priest described such acts as bad omen and injustice in the law of the church and society.

SOURCE: THE NATION

Ihedioha: My Target Is To Make Imo Most Viable Economy By 2025

Emeka Ihedioha

BY DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA

OWERRI (THE NATION)--Imo State governor, Emeka Ihedioha, has said that his efforts at rebuilding the state were targeted at making Imo to be one of the top most developed states in the country in five years time.

Ihedioha also said that within seven months in office, his administration had been able to restore effective budget presentation, reduce cost of governance, embarked on extensive road rehabilitation projects, deployed technology as an enabler for effective service delivery and carried out broad reforms in the state civil service.

“About the same period also, Imo State was appraised the Best Overall Performing State in ICT Development by the National Council on Communication and Digital Economy. Our comprehensive effort to deploy technology as an enabler for effective service delivery is yielding positive results. We have carried out trainings of our youths and

women, set up two ICT hubs in the state while the Digital Imo Project is on course”.

He added that another dimension in his administration’s reform process was that “we have revitalized the Local Governments for optimal performance. Today, they are receiving their full statutory allocations directly. Under our constitutional oversight, our 27 Local Governments are constructing standard secretariat buildings to provide adequate accommodation and conducive working environment for workers”.

Ihedioha told the stakeholders that his administration was poised to achieve food security and agricultural revolution in the State in line with its stated policy.

He said, “We launched a Youth-in-Agriculture programme and have

trained over 600 youths in various forms of agricultural production and agro-business skills. The Rice Mill in Ihitte- Uboma has been revived with Arondiuzogu mills coming up next January. This Christmas, many homes in Imo State would be eating rice planted, processed and packaged in Imo State.

The state’s ADAPALM is being revived while we have brought a viable investor for the Avutu Poultry Farm.”

Ahiajoku Lecture: Echeruo Faults Igbo Jewish Link

Prof. Michael Echeruo. Image via Rethinking Africa

BY CHRIS NJOKU

OWERRI (THE NATION)--The debate over Igbo’s Jewish origins and connections is undermining the sense of Igbo identity.

Delivering a lecture titled “Ogueri Mba: We shall survive” at the Ahiajoku Lecture 2019 and 40th anniversary held on Saturday at the Ahiajoku Institute, Owerri, Imo State, Prof. Michael Echeruo said the debate is fast undermining the sense of Igbo identity, attaching Ndigbo to a legacy in which they have absolutely no hope of acceptance.

“This feature of our public discourse does not have a single or simple motivation. Some believe that because we have been unjustly persecuted and misunderstood as a people, we must be Jews.

“Some others, standing anti-Senitism on its head, regard themselves as Jews by a fabled Igbo love for money, our new god.”

He described all these supposed links as a matter of folklore that could be easily ignored.

“We stand to gain nothing by claiming a Jewish identity parallel to that which we already have as Ndigbo.

“Even the Yoruba claim a Jewish origin at the time as they hold on to the mystical emergence of their ancestor. And they have, most of them, got over it, except the Igbo.”

He added further “the pattern of Igbo civil discourse, the quality of Igbo leadership at state and national levels even our quality of our pride in ourselves and our inheritance as Igbo people left to be desired.

“Our capacity for serious introspection has apparently diminished under the pressure of our needing to just survive and the anguish of having to put a stop to our dreaming of the might have been.”

Ihedioha Directs Imo AG To Plan Release Of Child Prisoners

Governor Emeka Ihedioha

BY DAMIAN DURUIHEOMA

OWERRI (THE NATION)--Governor Emeka Ihedioha of Imo State has directed the state Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice to look into the cases of juvenile prisoners with a view to releasing them from jail.

Ihedioha, who gave the directive Tuesday when he declared open the Reformation and Reorientation programme for juvenile offenders at the Owerri Custodian Centre of the Nigeria Correctional Service, said he would not hesitate action to release the children held under various charges in custody.

According to the governor, “I thank God that I came here today and I hope our visit here will touch your mind to become responsible members of the society when you come out.

“I’ve directed the Attorney General of the state to liaise with the officials of the Correctional Service to look into the cases of the juvenile prisoners and advise government appropriately. I would not hesitate action on releasing any of them”.

Ihedioha reiterated his commitment to reasonable reforms in the correctional system, especially measures that seek to “correct and not condemn, rehabilitate and not reject, restore and not cast away.

“The necessity to salvage our young ones from the dark clutches of perpetual delinquency cannot be overemphasized”.

While stating that the youths are assets that must be nurtured, treasured and harnessed for national development, the governor called upon the church, faith-based and non-governmental organizations to lend their hands in the efforts to make convicted offenders, especially the juveniles among them, better members of society.

Earlier, the Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Information and Advocacy, Adaora Onyechere, highlighted the cardinal objectives of the Save Them Young programme which according to her was centred on reformation, rehabilitation and reintegration of juvenile offenders.

She stated that action must be taken for the development of appropriate correctional programmes like civic education, skills acquisition, remand homes and other non-custodial facilities to assist young offenders.

She traced the factors that lead the youths into crimes to include lack of opportunities, inequality and exclusion.

SOURCE: THE NATION

From Clay, Ozioma Inspires Seed Yams …

BY OBIDIKE OKAFOR

One of Nigeria’s contemporary artists and Professor of Ceramic Art at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Ozioma Onuzulike, has made a statement, and he made it in a language that is local, yet universal.

His declarations take strategic positions at the exhibition space of the Centre for Contemporary Art (CCA), Lagos, in an exhibition curated and organised by CCA’s curator, Iheanyi Onwuegbucha entitled Seed Yams of our Land’

For someone from the eastern part of Nigeria, the installations will look familiar because yam barns are a common sight in many rural areas. While to a visitor the patterns created by the yams and the way they are displayed is both intimidated and engaging.

Onuzulike must have paid close attention to the techniques and patterns in which the real yams are tied in the barn as he repeats this in creating lines of ceramic yams and yam seedlings forged from the clay dug up in Nsukka-a popular university town in Eastern Nigeria.

Anyone looking at the long rows of yams hanging on the wall, or suspended on metal frames to create barns might think that they are real yams from a distance, but, on closer examination the glassy and hollow surface reveals the truth.

Yam plays a central role in the Igbo tradition, and it even has its own festival that is celebrated by descents of the Igbo society in Nigeria and in the diaspora.

Onuzulike takes the powerful crop and uses it to make statements that are social, political, economic and to an extent spiritual.

This two-year project takes its roots from the one question, what does the future hold for the seed yams (Youth) of our land?

With this timely showing he metaphorically explores yam and the yam barn in dimensions that have never been imagined.

In the Bible man was molded by God from clay, he takes this symbol literally as his basic material and explores the violent studio processes of pounding, cutting, crushing, firing as fitting metaphors for the human conditions in Africa today.

He draws the attention of the audience to the consequences on the ‘seed yams’ (the youth) of things like unwholesome politics, hunger, unemployment, banditry and armed conflicts in Africa.

Yams are everywhere, in heaps that are familiar with the way they are sold in the marketplace, arranged in rows on the walls and on beams.

Some of the yams look like they have been attacked by insects, while another set take the shape of bowls, each ‘gathering’ telling its own story.

For example, in the installation ‘Yam Fields’ made up of ceramic yams in wooden enclosures and x-rays installations that are placed under light.

Like all the yams displayed at the exhibition there are cuts on the body of each one symbolic of the scars of war, deprivation, destruction and the challenges faced by the African every day. The x-ray part of the installation tells something jarring yet hopeful- A broken bone joined together by metal to assist with the healing process.

This could indicate artist’s optimism that in the middle of all the fracture caused by conflicts, politics, unemployment and banditry, there is still hope that peace will come to heal all the broken parts.

Onuzulike who is also a poet used the exhibition to launch his latest collections of poems which address the same themes as the exhibition. He teaches both the artist and viewer one powerful lesson amidst the many things he talks about in his new body of work. Anything consumed by the mouth can inspire the brain.

SOURCE: THE NATION

IMSUTH And Its Unending Crises

Imo State University Teaching Hospital

BY CHRIS NJOKU

For members of staff and students of the Imo State University Teaching Hospital, Orlu, everything seem awry. To them, life was not what they thought it should be. They are being owed arrears of salaries, which has necessitated a strike action; while medical students’ hope of graduating at the appropriate time appears dashed.

As a kid, Macdonald Eke, the president, the Imo State University Medical Students’ Association, Umunna, Orlu, had told his mother that he would be a medical doctor. So, when he secured admission to study medicine at the Imo State University (IMSU), he was glad that, at last, his dream to become a medical doctor will come true. So, Eke hoped to spend six years in the medical college as the prescribed duration for medicine in the university.

However, Eke’s fate seems to be hanging in the balance as he has spent 10 years pursuing a course, which ordinarily could have lasted six years in the medical college.

Some of the students like Eke, who spoke to The Nation in confidence for fear of being intimidated, revealed that some of them have already spent more than 10 years than the prescribed duration for their respective courses despite paying school fees.

Investigation revealed that Imo State University Teaching Hospital (IMSUTH), has been having varying and periodic problems, arising from frequent strike action, poor funding, inadequate medical equipment, inadequate members of staff, loss of accreditation and lots more.

The sordid plight of the students again, took the front burner within the past weeks, when resident doctors embarked on strike to press home their demands.

Dr. Bright Chukwunta, the Chairman, Association of Resident Doctors, IMSUTH, explained that the strike was a continuation of an earlier one they suspended after reaching an agreement with Governor Emeka Ihedioha shortly after he was sworn in.

Chukwunta said doctors’ demands include payment of full subvention and provision of necessary equipment in the hospital and repair of access roads leading to the hospital.

“We had a gentleman agreement with the state governor seven days after he assumed office when he promised to restore our subvention to 100 per cent and pay arrears of salaries owed us, and fix access roads to the hospital.”

But after more than five months, Chukwunta said the agreement has not been implemented. “It is almost five months down the line and nothing has been done in that regard. This is why on September 12; we recommenced a previously suspended strike on the grounds of breach of agreement on the part of government.”

Again, while grappling with the resident doctors’ demands, on October 17, health workers under the aegis of Joint Health Sector Union (JOHESU) commenced their own strike.

Speaking to The Nation, Chairman of JOHESU, Imo State chapter, Onyechere Darlington, confirmed that they were on strike in continuation of their earlier strike, which was suspended following the promise by Governor Ihedioha to look into their grievances.

Darlington revealed that the workers’ meeting last Thursday with the government officials broke down because their demands could not be met.

“Last Thursday, we had a discussion in the Ministry of Health with SSG, Commissioner for Health, Senior Special Assistant (SSA) on Health and Special Adviser (SA) on Project Monitoring mandated by the governor to dialogue with us. It broke down because the government was still dragging its feet over our demands.

“They also did not care to dialogue with us within 21 days we issued an ultimatum. Out of the 21 days, that day (Thursday) was the first time they called us for discussion.

“They pleaded with me to shift the date of the strike that was supposed to commence that Thursday. I told them that inasmuch as I am the chairman, I don’t take unilateral decisions except the house mandates me. That time, the workers were disposed to go on strike and anything to the contrary will mean taking laws into my hands.

“They may not find it funny with me having suffered a lot of threats in the past because somebody is receiving 70 per cent of his salary; despite the situation in the country now. We have continued to talk about it.

“The other government left and we believe that government is a continuum. It is the Imo State government that owes us not Ihedioha or Okorocha,” he said.

Continuing, he said: “When the current administration assumed office; the workers heaved a sigh of relief because before Ihedioha took over the leadership of the state, we were on strike when the immediate past governor was paying us 70 per cent. So, we supported Ihedioha and he promised to restore our 100 per cent salary structure. We had to suspend the strike. After five months, nothing happened. The workers were alleging that I have been bought over.

“Before the commencement of the strike, the house gave me the mandate that their three months’ salary arrears must be paid. They were paying us 70 per cent of the net not 70 per cent of the gross. If they were paying us 70 per cent of the gross, perhaps, we would not have been where we are now.

“The other issue is access road even though the present government has come to flag off the road construction. But no work is going on there and then all the equipment in the hospital have all broken down. Most times, most of our patients are referred to other hospitals for dialysis and X-rays that were supposed to be conducted in the hospital. This does not give us the IGR we need to run the hospital.”

The deadlock has continued to have its toll on both the students and patients.

When The Nation visited the hospital, classes were empty, offices and gates were under lock and key. Some of the students were seen in groups discussing their plight.

Eke, who spoke to The Nation at the teaching hospital, Orlu, appealed to the state government to urgently resolve the matter before it gets out of hands.

“We are appealing to the state government to step into the matter. We are also urging the management and the resident doctors to shift ground and come to a common understanding for the sake of the patients, students and the credibility of the college,” he said.

He revealed that the college had suffered some setbacks on the issue of its accreditation, adding that the strike would compound the already horrible situation.

According to him, whenever there was a strike action, clinical posting suffers a setback in the school.

“Whenever there is a strike, we are limited; our training is incomplete and our clinical posting is truncated.

“Since the resident doctors embarked on the current strike, it has affected our clinical posting, most patients have died, many have been discharged.”

The students’ leader, who claimed that he is in his fifth year in the medical school, said he has spent 10 years running a course that was supposed to have been completed six, seven years ago.

Also, patients were seen leaving the hospital as no doctor was around to attend to them. Some of them interviewed said they were leaving for elsewhere to seek medical treatment.

A patient, who did not want her name mentioned, said some of them did not have a place to go for treatment.

“So, they are just there waiting for death to take them as there are no doctors to attend to them,” she said.

Reacting, the Chief Medical Director of the Teaching Hospital, Dr. Chukwuma Bonaventure Duru told The Nation that he has been able to reach the part of the agreement he had with the striking doctors.

Although he did not reveal the agreement reached with the striking doctors, he, however, said he had been supportive of the cause of the doctors.

“I am part of the doctors, they are my colleagues, but I am pleading with them to resume work as Governor Ihedioha has promised to meet their demands.

“We are continuing negotiations until we resolve the issue. It is better to resolve the problem through negotiation than through confrontation. I am not happy; the strike is negatively affecting the hospital. The senior doctors are overwhelmed, the condition of patients deplorable, the medical students are equally affected. For the sake of all these, I appeal to the resident doctors to call off the strike.

“The senior doctors are not part of the strike because they believe in negotiation. I plead with the young doctors to embrace negotiation.”

According to him, the last administration did not pay the salary; the current administration has agreed to pay. The governor is a man who stands by his words,” he said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Health, Dr. Vin Udokwu told The Nation that the government was finding ways to resolve the issue.

“I want to tell you that the issue has not been resolved, we are on the matter to find ways to resolve it amicably.”


SOURCE: THE NATION
Meanwhile, the plight of the doctors, students, workers, patients has continued unabated.

Ohanaeze Disowns Isiguzoro Led Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council

Imave via CISA

BY CHRIS OJI

ENUGU (THE NATION) -- Apex Igbo sociocultural organization Ohanaeze Ndigbo has disowned the Okechukwu Isiguzoro led Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council.

In a statement issued by the President general’s Special Adviser media and publicity, Chief Emeka Attamah, Ohanaeze described the group as non-existent but mere expletives of disgruntled power seekers who were shamed out of the leadership of the authentic youth wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

The statement says:

“Ordinarily, one would have regarded the recent rantings of one Okechukwu Isiguzoro and his cohorts parading themselves as leaders of a non-existent group called Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide as mere expletives of disgruntled power seekers who were shamed out of the leadership of the authentic Youth Wing of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide years ago for their nefarious activities.

“While the ideal thing would have been to consign their outbursts and vituperations against the highly respected leader of Ndigbo Worldwide, Chief John Nnia Nwodo, into the trashcan where it belongs, as dwelling on it would inexorably accord them recognition they do not deserve, it is imperative to make certain clarifications for the less infomed who may swallow their bile-coated belligerence hook, line and sinker.

“In the first instance, it is pertinent to unmask Okechukwu Isiguzoro. He was elected the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Leader in 2014, but due to his greed for money and inordinate quest for power, he was removed with his executive in 2016, during the tenure of Chief Igariwey,Chief Nwodo’s predecessor. So, Chief Nwodo was not even responsible for his ordeal. All attempts he made to perpetuate himself in power were quashed by courts. Not the one to stay without what he had come to regard as his only source of livelihood, he resorted to his stock in trade of parading himself as leader of a non-existent group called Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide which is neither affiliated to nor recognized by Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, nor is it recognized by Ndigbo. With this, he goes round with his ilk extorting money from gullible and un-suspecting governments, groups and individuals.

“Not being a recognized body by Ndigbo, one wonders, therefore, where they derive their powers from to decide who and who will be put forward by Ndigbo for the presidential race in 2023 in the country.

Moreover, the President General, Chief Nwodo, as of personal choice, does not belong to any political party, and even if he did, the constitution of Ohanaeze Ndigbo debars him from partisan politics.

“It will be a tale for another day to chronicle the covert and overt exhortations, persuasions and campaigns carried out by prominent sons and daughters of Igbo land, traditional rulers, the clergy and some governors of the South East to get him to accept to be the President General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo. In fact, it will be right to say that he was drafted into the role much against his wish. Having bowed to the wishes of the people, Chief Nwodo went to all the seven Igbo-speaking states to satisfy himself that his candidacy received the support of the totality of Ndigbo. In each state, the unanimity of the people in the choice of him was unequivocal. The situation was such that on 11th January, 2017 when elections took place, Chief Nwodo had unprecedented votes of 208 against his rival’s 14.

“Since assuming office, Chief Nwodo has brought his indisputable intellectual endowment, political sagacity, panache, oratory, courage, candour and transparency to bear in his leadership of Ndigbo, so much that Ndigbo can, once again, stand tall both in Nigeria and the diaspora. Hardly does any week pass without his being invited either to inaugurate a new branch abroad or to deliver a thought-provoking lecture within and outside the country.

About whether Ndigbo will present Chief Nwodo for the presidency of the country or not, there is a saying that you do not know the mind of the man on the ground, whether he will stand up and walk away or fight on.

Without presaging Chief Nwodo’s likely reaction to the issue, suffice it to say that as a bona fide Nigerian, he is eminently qualified by the Constitution to vote and be voted for. Nobody has the right, not even Okechukwu Isiguzoro and his co-travellers, to stop Chief Nwodo from aspiring to any office, if he so wishes.

Also, by dint of hard work, personal achievements and service to his fatherland,and judging by any parameters,Chief Nwodo stands as one of the tallest in Igbo land and the country at large.

He is academically sound; he is morally incorruptible as his service as a two-time minister of the Federal Republic without any corruption charges against him attests to; he is courageous and follows the dictates of his mind; he is ac bridge-builder made manifest in his being able to bring the South West, South South, South East, Middle Belt and some parts of the North into a common understanding of the ills of the country and how to get out of them; he is focused and knows the political economy of the world enough to give the country a positive direction; he is detribalised (even though he leads Ndigbo) as seen in his being elected the only Igbo President of the Students Union, University of Ibadan, where nearly 70% of the student population was Yoruba, and in people from other ethnic nationalities in his security apparatus and his employ; he has the oratory and power of conviction; above all, he is Godly and believes in equity and fairness in all he says and does. And so, what are the parameters for determining the suitability or otherwise of a presidential aspirant ? Isiguzoro should tell the world.

Can it just be a case of that any Igbo man who seeks prominence or popularity sees Chief Nwodo as the ladder ? Has Chief Nwodo grown so much in stature that the only way up is to attempt to bring him down? Has Chief Nwodo become the issue or factor ? Or, is there more than meets the eye ? Is it more clandestine or sinister than that?

What is Chief Nwodo’scrime that he is already being besmired, harassed and hounded with calumny, if not that, as is usual with Okechukwu Isiguzoro, he has been paid to do a hatchet job by those who are afraid of the stature of Chief John Nnia Nwodo and which the hatchet man is doing without scruples ? Unfortunately, Isiguzoro has allowed his unquenchable greed and pettiness to get the better of him and exposed his underbelly.

This piece would not have been necessary if it was for Isiguzoro alone. Evidently, the masquerade dancing in the middle of the road has a drummer in the bush beating the drum. There is or are men behind the mask.

Pray, what “antics” was Isiguzoro referring to ? Who is really playing antics between Isiguzoro (his faceless employers) and Chief Nwodo ? Ndigbo should decide.

“Chief Nwodo has less than seventeen months more to hand over the leadership of Ohanaeze Ndigbo to his successor. The least anybody can do is to leave him to concentrate on discharging his obligations to Ndigbo without distractions. Isiguzoro and his co-transducers are mere distractions and should be seen as such.

“Chie Nwodo has neither said nor done anything suggestive of further ambition in politics for anybody to begin to see him as a possible rival. He is contented with serving Ndigbo as honestly, purposefully and transparently as his conscience will allow him, and so it is. Unfortunately, the respect for elders very much enshrined in Igbo culture has been eroded. If not, Isiguzoro and his type would have been berated and called to order by prominent traditional rulers, governors and prominent Igbo sons and daughters who all urged Chief Nwodo to come out to do a job that has exposed him to this kindu of opprobrium.

Or was Isiguzoro just flying a kite?

It will neither fly nor perch !”

Booker… It Should Be Chigozie Obioma’s Year

Chigozie Obioma, pictured with his book "The Fishermen" ahead of the 2015 Man Booker Prize for Fiction ceremony in London, October 12, 2015. Image: Niklas Hallen'N/AFP/Getty

BY OLUKOREDE S. YISHAU

By Monday, the judges of the Man Booker Prize will announce the winner for this year.

I expect the winner to be no one else but Chigozie Obioma, the author of An Orchestra of Minorities, in which the chi, the guidance spirit in Igbo cosmology, is the narrator. You can say Chi wrote about chi and you will be right.

I am sure I am not the only one expecting Chigozie to carry the day. Not because this is his second nomination but because An Orchestra of Minorities is phenomenal.

I am not saying the other books on the shortlist are not good or great but Chigozie’s book is something all humanity can relate with. It is not about European politics or American niceties.

It is about humanity, our humanity and that should count. It is also superbly written.

If there is any paragraph in Chi’s book that will stay with me for a long time, it is where the chi speaks of “the land of lack, of man-pass-man, the land in which a man’s greatest enemies are members of his household; a land of kidnappers, of ritual killers, of policemen who bully those they encounter on the road and shoot those who don’t bribe them, of leaders who treat those they lead with contempt and rob them of their commonwealth, of frequent riots and crisis, of long strikes, of petrol shortages, of joblessness, of clogged gutters, of potholed roads…and of constant power outages”.

He is a first-class student at the Cyprus International University, where he won a scholarship for a second degree and stayed back to lecture before America beckoned. At 27, his novel The Fishermen, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, shook the literary community.

Now at 33, he is an Assistant Professor of Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His An Orchestra of Minorities, in my view, has the potential to do better than The Fishermen.

Chigozie is in love with artistry.

He says: “I think it is a mistake when you just set out to pursue an agenda. Artistry should be the focus.

“If not, you end up writing propaganda and I see that a lot. True it can get you a lot of money and fame because everybody is politically wired, but it will not endure in the end. What endures in the most is the art.”

This quest for enduring art has created a problem for him. The problem is that he is always on the lookout for ways, other than the traditional, to tell stories.

No wonder he wrote an over 500-page long novel in which the narrator is the chi. “I don’t like to tell stories in a traditional way so I am always thinking of an invention.”

Those who have read Chi’s essay, The Audacity of Prose, will not be surprised about his ‘disdain’ for the traditional.

“The essential work of art is to magnify the ordinary, to make that which is banal glorious through artistic exploration.

Thus, fiction must be different from reportage; painting from photography. And this difference should be reflected in the language of the work — in its deliberate constructiveness, its measured adornment of thought, and in the arrangement of representative images so that the fiction about a known world becomes an elevated vision of that world.

That is, the language acts to give the “ordinary” the kind of artistic clarity that is the equivalent of special effects in film. While the special effect can be achieved by manipulating various aspects of the novel, such as the structure, voice, setting, and others, the language is the most malleable of all of them. All these can hardly be achieved with sparse, strewn-down prose that mimics silence,” he argued in that essay for The Millions.

I left Labule restaurant in Ogudu-GRA, Lagos that Monday when we spoke in April with the feeling that pursuing one’s passion and standing for what you believe are enduring virtues.

Before studying in Cyprus, Chi was at a private university in Enugu. But, his chi led him away from the place, which he saw as a time-waster.

“I did Economics in a Nigerian private university in Enugu but it was a complete waste of my time. I left there because I was always protesting and they were going to throw me out.”

His chi led him to Cyprus where his star shone and soon America saw it and liked it and we are all reaping the goodness through The Fishermen and An Orchestra of Minorities and more to come.

He also struck me as very principled. Or, how do you see someone who pulled his book from a dollar-denominated prize because he felt the sponsor was causing havoc to the people?

I love the fact that Chi also put to good use the interesting dynamics of his childhood. He is the fifth of twelve children. Their home in Akure, the Ondo State capital, was noisy.

As a recluse, he would always hide and books provided him safe havens. This Chi, who speaks Yoruba, Igbo, English and Turkish, started reading as early as six years of age.

And the more he read the more he discovered he could also write. Noise thus produced a world-class writer. What this means is that we can always make something of whatever situation we find ourselves.

As the potential laureates and judges are in London for the final push before the D-day, my heart is with Chigozie because he is damn good. This should be Chigozie Obioma’s Booker Prize year and I look forward to the announcement on Monday.

SOURCE: THE NATION

Imo: Can Ihedioha Meet The Expectations?

Emeka Ihedioha. Image: Twitter.

BY SAM EGBURONU

The politics of Imo State has never remained the same since Governor Emeka Ihedioha of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) emerged the helmsman. In this report, Associate Editor, Sam Egburonu, reports on the changing politics and the efforts of the new government to meet up with the high expectations of the people of the Southeast state

The intrigues that surrounded the last governorship election in Imo State left no one in doubt that whoever wins the race will be of special interest to both the Imo State stakeholders and other Nigerians eager to see good governance in the southeast state. Everyone therefore expected the then governorship candidates to be aware of the high expectations.

So, as soon as he was declared winner of the election, Hon. Emeka Ihedioha of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) promised to turn what he called the state’s “bad news to a good story.” He promised to do so by making fundamental changes in several critical areas, especially in the style of governance.

One of such areas, he promised to do differently is the relationship between the state and the local governments, which until then was reportedly frosty. When he went to the office of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to collect his Certificate of Return, Ihedioha said, “For us in the executive, we shall run a government that is responsible in every sense of the word. For us, the local government administration shall be appreciated and seen as an arm of the government that is respected because that is where the grassroots people participate.”

Considering the intrigues, allegations and counter-allegations that trailed the past government of Owelle Rochas Okorocha over his style of governance and his relationship with local governments in the state, many observers have been keen on seeing if Ihedioha will fulfil his promise to local governments and restore confidence in the state’s civil service.

Though his government is just a little bit more than three months old, Ihedioha said he has already taken action on this critical area. “Another immediate concern we confronted head-on was the weakness of the state civil service due to high nepotism, lack of motivation, delayed salaries and under-payments by, sometimes, as much as 30 percent of salaries due. We, thenceforth, set up a review committee to look into cases of improper or irregular appointments, promotions and other related matters.

“The committee has turned in its report and, subsequently, we have approved the restoration of payment of 100 percent salaries to all workers in the state, recalled all unjustly suspended directors, reversed some undeserved promotions and sponsored officers to capacity building programmes. Similarly, local government workers have been paid the backlog of salaries owed them by the last administration. I can tell you that there is a renewed sense of motivation in the civil service across the state today.”

Another area observers identified as immediate challenge to Ihedioha’s government is the problem of the state’s economy; especially the irony inherent in multiple taxation but low Internally Generated Revenue (IDR). During the electioneering campaigns, Omo indigenes made this a major campaign topic. So, while taking oath of office, Ihedioha pledged to change this story.

In his 100 days address, he said: “we have signed into law, Executive Order 005, known as Treasury Single Account (TSA) Order to consolidate all government revenues under one account. We have also adopted other measures designed to plug leakages and increase Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) in the state coffers.

“We cannot achieve the right growth as a state without a sustainable revenue generating system. The state has less than 5 percent of the working population of over two million paying taxes and this is not an acceptable position. We met an arbitrary tax collection system leading to leakages, fraud and all sorts of irregularities.

“To ensure a sustainable IGR regime, we took steps to reform the state Internal Revenue Service. From August 2019 all cash tax payments have been banned and the government has mandated the use of the PayDirect Platform with a single source sweeping of revenue. This has started addressing the issue of multiple accounts and leakages, and the IGR has grown from an all-time low of about 300m in July to 600m in August.

“We have commissioned a Central Billing System which will drive the use of technology in tax collection. We have started a tax payer enumeration exercise with the attendant benefit of identifying the tax payers and ensuring they pay the right amount of tax to the right source.

“A transformation of the revenue service built on the pillars of People Processes and Technology to ensure that we serve the needs of the populace in the most efficient and professional manner, by operationalizing the autonomy of the Imo Internal Revenue Service in line with global standards.

“We have also listened to your issues on multiple taxation and commenced a tax harmonisation exercise in a bid to eliminate multiple taxation and streamline taxes in a manner that will only focus on the most relevant taxes to be paid.

“Due to these strategic and fiscal responsibility moves, Imo State has gained positive image and is now on track to join the Open Governance Partnership league. It also now qualifies for performance-based grants of the World Bank as well as other multilateral development institutions. We are also currently developing the Imo Growth and Economic Development Fund. The fund will be unique in Nigeria and would serve as an investment catalyst for the Imo State economy.”

The Nation observed that at the twilight of Okorocha’s government, another critical challenge in Imo State, especially in Owerri, the state capital, was water supply crisis. Mazi Ikechukwu Ukachukwu, who resides in Mbaise Road, Owerri, said “water scarcity in Owerri had almost become a norm, so much so that some of us did not believe it could be reversed in a short while. This is because we had burst water pipes all over the metropolis, buried in the muds. The neglect has taken a very long time. You will not believe that sachet water here has always been N10 even when it was still selling for N5 in Lagos.” Ihedioha also said he has commenced action in this area: “For several years, the Otamiri Water Supply was not functional and our people in the state capital and its environs suffered untold hardships. We have therefore, provided what was required to get it working again. Specifically, water started running again in Imo on 24th July, 2019 after almost seven (7) years of dry pipes. In the same vein, work is ongoing to rectify cases of burst pipes across the major roads,” he said.

His claims notwithstanding, some of his critics in the state, making reference to some of the actions attributed to Ihedioha at the dawn of his administration, like the demolition of some monuments erected by former Governor Okorocha, alleged that the new government may be doing more hype than it has actually accomplished in physical terms. “Is it everything the new government claims that we should agree with? I suggest the Ihedioha-led state government should go to the field and work instead of beating its chest so early in the morning. Though I do not agree with the way they condemned everything Okorocha did, I cannot deny that this new government seems more sensitive to the actual needs of the people. But they should leave Rochas alone and face the work for which Imo people elected them,” Kingsley Uzochukwu said.

But Dr. Nicholas Nwulu told The Nation during the week that the present state government is determined to make the needed difference in the area of agricultural development. “If Ihedioha continues the way he has started, Imo will soon experience positive revolution in agriculture…,” he said.

Steve Osuji, the Senior Adviser to the governor on Media, who listed “removal of massive heaps of refuse across Owerri and environs,” as one of his principal’s first areas of concern, told The Nation during the week that the Ihedioha-led state government has “initiated the revamping of Avutu Poultry, Adapalm and Imo Rubber Estates,” amongst other areas of interest in the agricultural sector.

The governor himself also spoke glowingly of his interest in the development of the agricultural sector in his 100 days in office broadcast when he said: “Pursuant to our resolve to harness our agricultural potentials as well as generate employment, just a few days ago, we launched our Agricultural Roadmap which represents a comprehensive framework for self-sufficiency in food production, both for domestic consumption and for exports purposes. By our strategic location at the heartland of the South East and our endowment with the only international cargo airport in the region, we are certain that with the right investments, the state would harvest monumental benefits in this sector.

“I am happy also to report that the first batch of 500 youths selected from all the 27 LGAs in Imo State will be sent to a modern farm at Nasarawa State, in a few weeks, under the Imo Youths in Agribusiness Programme (IYAP). Here, they would learn the best practices in tropical agriculture, after which they will be supported to start their own businesses in Imo State.

“We have also commenced the establishment of a Rice Seed Farm Cluster on the Imo River Basin at Amumara Ezinihitte Mbaise LGA. This programme will make Imo State self-sufficient in the production of improved variety of rice seeds with a view to strengthening our rice value chain. Experts in rice breeding, production and processing from the Africa Rice Centre at IITA Ibadan will be training our groups of rural young farmers to grow and process improved rice seeds.

“We have also commenced the introduction of light mechanization to farmers in areas where full tractorization may not be possible.

“The process for the rejuvenation of Imo ADP has commenced and plans are underway to train staff and reintegrate them back to intervention programmes that have suffered severe setbacks in the past as a preclude to granting access to reputable, time-tested investors.

“It is noteworthy that, the Avutu Poultry Farm has been cleared for a full restoration to a world-class standard. Similarly, Adapalm is being cleared through the relevant Committee and we would soon commence operations. The challenge of pending legal issues is being attended in order to clear the way for full optimization of its potentials.

“Our state is set to host the only Agribusiness Park in Nigeria at Ngor-Okpala. This comprises an agribusiness academy, and a smart agribusiness centre, thus positioning the facility for revenue generation and job creation. In a few weeks’ time, we would begin the process of data capture of afffected Imolites in the upcoming agriculture revolution program targeting 400,000 participants between the ages of 15-64,” he said.

SOURCE: THE NATION

Ugwuanyi: Taking Democratic Dividends To Grassroots

Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi

BY LOUIS AMOKE

Enugu State Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi’s priority is rural development. In this piece, Louis Amoke examines the administration’s rural development strategy, which has impacted on the grassroots.

The Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Public Accounts, Wole Oke, who represents Obokun/Oriade Constituency of Osun State, has given a good account of the policy thrust of the administration of Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State and its positive impact on the lives of the people of the state.

Oke, who led members of the Ad-hoc Committee on Investigation and Monitoring of Recruitment of Nigerians by MDAs of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, to pay a courtesy call on Gov. Ugwuanyi, when they visited the state on their oversight assignment, disclosed that the governor has concentrated massive development more in the rural areas “unlike what we have in other states where a governor will concentrate development in the state capital”.

The parliamentarian extolled the leadership qualities of Gov. Ugwuanyi as a peaceful, humble, focused, hard-working and grassroots politician, stressing that they were impressed with the level of progress going on in the rural communities of Enugu State.

Oke’s remark on Ugwuanyi was not only candid but also a true reflection of what his administration stands for. His assessment has reechoed the intrinsic aspect of the governor’s vision, strategy and untiring endeavor in reconnecting the people with reality and act of good governance, irrespective of class or socio-economic background.

Ugwuanyi, in spite of the nation’s daunting economic challenges, the state’s lean resources and recent security challenges, has remained undaunted and resolute in his sustained efforts to build Enugu State of the founding fathers’ dream, where peace, harmony, inclusive governance and rapid development hold sway.

His vision and passion for the well-being of the people of the state, irrespective of class or social status, as major stakeholders in the development project, gave birth to the massive infrastructural rebirth being witnessed in rural communities since the inception of his administration.

As Oke rightly stated, Ugwuanyi’s grassroots development initiatives have truly ensured more concentration of infrastructural developments in rural areas than in urban centres.

This reverse in the development strategy, which is novel in the annals of the state and seems to be alien to some urban residents, was in view of the fact that past administrations concentrated development largely in Enugu city, neglecting the majority of the state’s population who live in the rural areas. The governor’s rural development agenda have addressed to a reasonable extent, the unorthodox imbalance between urban and rural dwellers in terms distribution of infrastructure and other basic amenities.

The success of the strategy, especially its direct positive impact on the lives of the rural dwellers was no doubt responsible for the over 94.5 percent votes Gov. Ugwuanyi garnered to win his reelection in 2019, which was adjudged the most peaceful and transparent electoral exercise in the history of Enugu State.

In clear terms, the landslide victory which was unprecedented in spite of the fact that it was the first time the state went to the polls as an opposition political party to the ruling party at the national level was indeed a referendum on the governor’s outstanding performance.

The outcome of the 2019 governorship election went beyond parochial sentiments in proving that the overwhelming majority of the people of Enugu State appreciate the good works of Gov. Ugwuanyi and his uncommon panache of humility, peacefulness, godliness and inclusiveness, which he brought to bear in the governance of the state.

Standing on his vision to channel the bulk of development projects to the rural areas, Ugwuanyi in his inaugural address in 2015, promised to pay a special attention to rural development; open up the rural areas; create more urban centres; develop fresh economic opportunities and reduce pressure on Enugu metropolis for socio-economic expansion.

The governor’s policy direction, which became the fulcrum of his administration’s success story, made it possible that citizens/communities in Enugu State who have not felt the positive impact of governance for many decades did so in an ambiance of peace and harmony.

It was indeed a deliberate step anchored on the core values of justice, equity and fairness in an uncommon zeal to “take up the gauntlet of the struggle for the emancipation of the Wawa man from where our heroes past stopped”.

On Ugwuanyi’s modest achievements, in spite of the recurring decimal of paucity of funds, coupled with the inherited huge debt profile and other enormous wage bills to be serviced, considering the state’s status as a large and the oldest city in the South-East, Ugwuanyi’s administration has remained regular in payment of state workers’ salaries and retirees’ pensions, including the 13th month salary, even without receipt of federal allocations.

His administration has covered about 550 kilometers of roads scattered all over the nooks and crannies of the state with some ongoing projects such as the Enugu State Secretariat Annex building in Nsukka and the administrative building of the Enugu State University of Education in Ihe, Awgu L.G.A – first university in the South-East zone that would be a degree-awarding institution in the area of education and a centre for training of teachers for primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Other include, some internal roads in Enugu and the University town of Nsukka and the 200-bed Igbo Ano Specialist Hospital, Enugu North Senatorial District, which when completed with other proposed infrastructural development in the site, will serve as facilities for the ESUT College of Medicine that has been relocated to Nsukka, etc.

In keeping with its commitment to zero tolerance for potholes on roads built by past administrations and maintenance of existing infrastructure, the state government, acting on professional advice, has announced plans to commence fixing of potholes created recently by persistent rainfalls, once the rains subside.

Three months into his first term, Ugwuanyi spearheaded the massive development of urban and rural roads across the three senatorial districts of the state, in Emene, Abakpa-Nike, 9th Mile Corner and Nsukka.

Shortly after, his administration, in line with its rural development strategy, simultaneously executed 35 grassroots development projects across the 17 Local Government Areas of Enugu State, which ensured that every council benefited at least one project from the programme.

There was also the N10 million “One Community, One Project” scheme, which has made it possible for every community in the state to execute one or two priority projects of her choice.

All these were going on as completion of works on projects started by previous administrations were given adequate attention, such as the Enugu State Diagnostic Centre (completed), the International Conference Centre Enugu (ongoing), the Poly General Hospital Asata, Enugu and the Udi General Hospital now completed and scheduled for inauguration.

Besides the foregoing, the following were among the development projects successfully delivered to standard by Ugwuanyi’s administration in the last four years.

The Nike Lake road and Abakpa Nike road in Enugu East Local Government Area, which were hitherto in deplorable conditions; the two 9th Mile Bypasses in Udi L.G.A, which have relieved travelers the stress of traffic gridlock in the area, especially during festivities; the Opi-Nsukka Dual Carriageway in Nsukka Local Government Area with state-of-the-art underground drainage and other facilities befitting a University town and the second largest city in the state – the first of its kind to be delivered by a state government in the entire south east. The New Market-Milliken Hill-Ngwo-9th Mile road, an ancient, historic and undulating road, modernised with streetlights and other safety measures after decades of neglect to showcase its potentials as a tourist attraction and the state’s natural roller coaster, which now serves as an alternative gateway into the city of Enugu, from Onitsha-Enugu expressway.

The Agbani-Amurri road in Nkanu West LGA (Phase one), constructed for a community that has never experienced any form of development on its land in the past 100 years. The Ogonogoeji-Ndiagu-Akpugo road (from Atavu Bailey bridge to Afor Onovo), in the same council, which has a historic and symbolic attraction as the first state government road project in the entire Akpugo zone since the creation of Enugu State.

Development projects of significant importance to the lives of the lowly and neglected were also executed in high density suburbs such as Ngenevu, Iva Valley, Ugbodogwu, Ogwuagor, Abakpa Nike, Emene, among others.

The 49km Udenu Ring road (ongoing) linking over 10 adjoining communities with three bridges equally stands out as one of the legacy projects of Ugwuanyi’s administration in the rural areas.

Today, the people of Eha-Amufu, Isi-Uzo Local Government Area are in jubilant mood as they await the inauguration of the 8.8km road connecting their agrarian community with Nkalagu, Ebonyi State, which was reconstructed to high standard by the Ugwuanyi administration after it was abandoned for over 36 years.

Others include the Ogbaku road in Awgu Local Government Area, which was constructed on a difficult terrain that is both hilly and undulating; the Ebonyi River Bridge in Isi Uzo Local Government Area; the Nkwo Inyi-Akpugoeze-Mamu Forest road in Oji River Local Government Area, and the Nike Lake junction-Harmony Estate-Adoration Pilgrimage Centre road (Phase one), with five river crossings, which when completed will link Abakpa and Emene and decongest traffic in the areas. Numerous development projects have also been executed in the urban areas.

Apart from road projects, Ugwuanyi’s administration has also taken bold steps in other spheres of development which have endeared the governor to the people of the state.

The areas include, the Enugu Traders Empowerment Scheme which has so far assisted 3600 genuine traders with the sum of N50,000 each to grow their various businesses; construction and renovation of over 589 primary and secondary school blocks in the state, with more than 260 ongoing, as well as procurement of learning tools; employment of over 5000 teachers; empowerment of 750 youths under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) programme and engagement of 1000 youths, additional 1000 underway, under the Enugu Clean Team Project.

Others include award of scholarships to 680 indigent engineering students of Enugu State Polytechnic, Iwollo, Ezeagu L.G.A and the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, for four years of academic studies as well as the recent scholarship offered to 22 post-secondary school indigent students to study at Mewar University, India.

Others still include, construction and renovation of district hospitals and health centres in the state, especially in the rural areas under the primary healthcare programme; construction of over 14 new court buildings and open registries in the judicial divisions and magisterial districts across the state, which the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Ngozi Emehelu, described as “unprecedented infrastructural development that has not been witnessed in the entire Southeast” and “the largest single intervention in infrastructural development in the Judiciary of Enugu State for over 20 years”.

Following the recent odd security challenges, which attempted to undermine the enviable status of Enugu as one of the most peaceful and secure states in the country, Ugwuanyi has grabbed the bull by the horn by initiating measures and strategies to decisively tackle the situation with the establishment of the Forest Guard operation (a first in the entire country); reorganisation of the Vigilante/Neighborhood Watch groups; creation of a new Ministry of Security Affairs; appointment of the former Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Ogbonna Onovo as Security Consultant to the state government; purchase of 360 security vehicles for community policing as well as the Security Trust Fund, among others.

With the submission of the weighty reports of the 12 sectoral ad-hoc committees set up by his administration on assumption of its second term to review government’s programmes, policies and activities in the last four years and make recommendations that would assist it to reposition the state’s public service for optimized service delivery and advancement of good governance, Gov. Ugwuanyi is set to commence more aggressive polices and strategies. These are expected to usher in further rapid development and take Enugu State to the next level for Ndi Enugu to continue to enjoy democracy dividends. Enugu State is truly in the hand of God.

SOURCE: THE NATION

Xenophobia: Ezekwesili, Nigerians In S’Africa Meet

Oby Ezekwesili

BY OLUKOREDE YISHAU
A former presidential candidate in Nigeria, Obiageli ‘Oby’ Ezekwesili, and leaders of the Nigerian community in Cape Town have met to proffer a solution to recurring xenophobic attacks in South Africa.

The meeting held on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Cape Town, South Africa, comprising Nigerian entrepreneurs, professionals and the Nigerian community led by Mr Cosmos Echie, the acting President of the Nigerian Community Western Cape.

In a communique after the meeting, held in the form of an interactive session, the group preferred to describe the attacks as Afrophobia.

“It was unanimously agreed that the crisis is detrimental to the spirit of African renaissance, affirmation of black heritage, progress and development. Afrophobia compromises everything that the recently brokered intra-African trade – Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement — represents and aspires to deliver,” the communique added while faulting the attacks.

According to a copy of the communique made available to our correspondent on Monday, governments of Nigeria and South Africa are urged to guide against provocative comments.

The South Africa’s President, Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, was also asked to apologise to Nigerians and other countries whose citizens were attacked.

The South African government was also advised to trigger series of actions necessary to de-escalate the brewing conflict.

This, the experts said, would ensure that bilateral trade agreements between the countries would not be affected.

Part of the communique read, “Officials of the government of South Africa must immediately desist from making any further pejorative and incendiary comments targeting Nigerians and their country and instead publicly commit to taking preventive and surveillance measures that will foreclose a repeat of Afrophobic attacks of Nigerians and other African nationals.

“The President of South Africa, Cyril Remaphosa, should rise to the demands of leadership and reach out to the President of Nigeria to trigger the series of dialogue and actions necessary for swift de-escalation of the brewing conflict between their two countries.

“The President of South Africa should offer a sincere public apology to Nigeria, other countries affected by the attacks and the entire continent for the tragic hostility and harm perpetrated against their citizens.

“The President of South Africa should send a sharp signal to South Africans and the continent by visiting the victims of the Afrophobia attacks to empathize with and reassure them of their safety in South Africa and the government should consider paying compensations for losses sustained in the attacks.

“South Africa and Nigeria should agree a mutual legal assistance cooperation scheme for tackling cases of crimes occurring among their citizens.”

It also read, “The Nigerian High Commission and Nigerians in South Africa should design a fact-based campaign to widely convey the accurate and positive narrative of the value they contribute to their host country. For example, South Africans must be made aware that more than 18 per cent of lecturers in their higher institutions are Nigerians. A significant percentage of medical personnel in rural hospitals are Nigerians. Most Nigerians and Nigerian-owned businesses operate responsibly in legitimate and professional practices in South Africa compared to the less than one per cent of cases of shadowy activities.

“The Nigerian government should make visible effort to guarantee the safety and security of South Africans and their businesses in Nigeria.

“The umbrella organisation of South Africa- based Nigerians will be encouraged to launch a business platform to support the formalising processes for as many informal businesses of Nigerians as possible in order to better capture the value and impact being created and contributed to South Africa’s economic and social landscape.”

The communique added, “Ezekwesili promised her expertise in personally working with the NCWC to ensure that their goal to help achieve the formalising platform.

“The leaders of South Africa-based Nigerians will collaborate to promote a citizens diplomacy programme to foster stronger personal and business relationships between Nigerians and South Africans.”

Other members of the delegation that met with the former minister are Mr Fuster Ludjoe, current financial Secretary of NCWC and the founding leader of Nigerian community group in Cape Town; Mrs Ebiere Joseph-Akwunwa, Public Relations Officer, NCWC; Mr Chukwudi Nwokeabia; Mr Kiisi Women;
Mr Samson Famuyiwa; Mr Sunday Ekene, Chief Welfare Officer, NCWC; and assistant welfare officers of NCWC.

Others are Mrs Felicia Feni, Treasurer of NCWC; Chief T.A Odutayo, who represented the Yoruba community in Cape Town; Chief Vincent Nzekwe; Mr Simon Odumegwu, Chairman and General Secretary of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo, Western Cape; and Pastor Barry Wuganaale, leader of the Ogoni community.

Anxiety In Owerri Over Invasion Of Medical Expert’s Home By Suspected B’Haram Members

Owerri Township. Image: Youtube

BY OKODILI NDIDI

OWERRI (THE NATION) -- Relatives of a medical practitioner, Dr. Conrad Esomonu, have raised alarm over the recent invasion of his Owerri residence by suspected members of the terror group, Boko Haram.

A younger brother to the medical expert, Ben Esomonu, said that he left the country four years ago following a similar ordeal in Maiduguri, Borno state, where he was practicing in Maiduguri.

Esomonu, an indigene of Ahiazu Mbaise Council Area of Imo State, was a practicing physician in the Northern part of Nigeria before he relocated abroad after a failed attempt on his life by the Boko Haram sect.

“Trailing and threats of lower magnitude have been hunting the family members which prompted the relocation of his fiancée and children to another part of the country.

“It is worthy of note that the failed kidnap attempt on his fiancée in Calabar early last 2018 was evident. The failed kidnap attempt necessitated that they fled the country to an unconfirmed destination.”

Also, an eye witness, Mrs. Carol Ugwuegbu, disclosed that, “six armed men suspected to be members of Boko haram terror group arrived the home of Dr Esomonu in two Hilux vans at about 6:30pm on Saturday 3rd August 2019. The assailants were chanting incomprehensible invocations suspected to be in Arabic, they were all dressed in flowing gowns (jalandher), a form that suggests that they are terrorists.

“On their arrival at the residence, they started shooting randomly in the air and people nearby scampered for safety. They broke into the premises and shot sporadically into the air but as there was no one in the residence as at that time so they couldn’t get anybody.

“The Police arrived shortly after their departure but no arrests were made instead they inspected the bullet shots around the premises.”

SOURCE: THE NATION