INVESTMENT IN THE POLICE FORCE
 

ATTEMPTS, to improve the quality of the service delivery of the Nigeria Police Force(NPF)by the federal government, though long over due is certainly a welcome development. Top officials of the force and the Police Service Commission (PSC) recently disclosed that governments would be investing heavily in the NPF.
PSC chairman, Mr. Parry Osayande was reported to have disclosed to newsmen in Owerri that the sum of 420 billion Naira would be injected yearly into NPF by the three tiers of government, i.e. Federal, state and local governments, for the next five years. By conservative estimate, that translates into about 2.1 trillion Naira.
Although Osayande was not forthcoming with details, he indicated that the move was aimed at fulfilling President Umaru Musa Yar'Adua's desire to improve not only the NPF but also the entire security infrastructure and personnel. He added that security was encapsulated in the president's 7-Point Agenda. However, there are caveats for Nigerians to understand the details of the forthcoming attempts at translating the force.
DIG Osayande said the funds would be sourced outside budgetary provisions. What this mean is that there will not be statutory allocations to execute the programme. According to him, such was the recommendation of the MD Yusuf Commission set up by the Federal Government which looked into the problems besetting the force.
As AIG Osayande pointed out, the MD Yusuf Commission made a holistic assessment of the problems of the force and identified critical areas needing immediate attention. These included kitting of the force, including training, logistics and equipment, upgrading of facilities together with infrastructure and hardware as well as the general welfare of personnel. In addition, and this is key to the new effort, there would be need to upgrade the weapon stocks of the NPF.
There is no doubt about the fact that there is need to pay attention to improve the lot of the police as well as modernizing it. The weaponry currently in use by the force is of the 80s and 90s and therefore out dated so it cannot meet up with today's challenges of hi-tech robbery, hijacking, kidnappings and cyber crimes. Even the vehicles and communication gears the police use today are inferior to those used by criminals.
New Nigerian supports the new thinking and the expectations of Nigerians because we need to look into the future with accompanying vision and sophistication. We need to invest heavily to safeguard lives and property as well as creating an enabling environment for investment and socio-economic activities. Government most therefore ensure that the money injected into this project is judiciously utilised.

The CHARADE IN BURMA

ON August 11, a Burmese court sentenced pro-democracy campaigner and Nobel Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi, to 18 months in prison. Her offence? A deranged American John Yettaw had spent the night in her house having swarm across the lake to breach the cordon imposed on her. Before then, she had been serving a prison term which was due to expire by the end of the month.

Kyi, 64, has spent 14 out of the last 19 years in detention, sometime in prison and often under solitary confinement. The leader of National League for Democracy NLD, she is considered the conscience of Burma. She was first detained in 1988 when she returned to Burma after studies overseas and was put under house arrest in Rangoon till July 1995. She was again detained in 2000 but spent only two years, having been released in 2002 and was back behind bars in 2003 when her supporters clashed with government backed mobs. In 2007 she was released because of gynaecological operation but confined to house arrest. Kyi spent most of her jail terms in the notoriously dangerous Insein prison.

Although critics of the regime and supporters of Kyi believe the verdict was political and meant to put her out of the political spotlight during next year’s presidential elections, the government insists she breached the terms of her house arrest by allowing Yettaw into her house. Yettaw claimed he wanted to warn her she was a target of an assassination plot. Before now, Burma’s military government had been under the periscope of the international community for two decades for its lack of basic democratic rights, human rights violations and repression. Under its secretive and ageing head of state, Gen. Tan Tshwe, 76, the regime has militarised Burmese society and politics and consumes 40 per cent of its budget. As such, it has been under international economic and political sanctions. Meanwhile, the regime has been apprehensive of the popularity of Kyi and the NLD.

Suu Kyi has a humble but popular background. She is the daughter of independence movement hero, the late Gen. Aung San who was assassinated during the transition period in July 1947. Her mother was the former ambassador Daw Khin Kyi. She studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford (UK) where she met and married her late husband Michael Aris. She later worked in Bhutan and Japan. However, Kyi joined politics unceremoniously during demonstrations by monks, students and workers who were demanding democratic rights from the then General Nen Win’s government. According to her, she was inspired by Martin Luther King Jr and Mahatma Gandhi.

Suu Kyi was in the midst of these developments and actually helped organise rallies and demonstrations which were brutally suppressed. When elections were held in 1990, her NLD party and allies won even with her being under house arrest but the military junta refused to hand over power. Another elections are scheduled for 2010. According to observers, the elections are about who succeeds Gen. Tan Tshwe and how he can have a guaranteed retirement. Obviously, he is worried about his security and safety when he leaves power.

The 18-month jail term handed to Suu Kyi is part of a grand design to ensure that she does not participate in the 2010 presidential elections. It is also intended to douse the flame of criticisms by the international community that has slammed sanctions on it. It is, also, to provide leverage for China, India, Asean and Russia who have provided a shield for the rogue regime at the UN because of their thirst for Burma’s mineral resources. In the meantime the generals believe that their proxies are strong enough to win the polls. The international community must not only condemn Burma’s generals but also must step up pressure to stop them in their tracks.

The farce in Niger
 

THE spectre of sit-tight syndrome by African leaders elicited global condemnation once again early this week when two-term president of Republic of Niger, Mamadou Tandja, organized a referendum which seeks to extend his tenure in office by another three years. Regional bodies such as the ECOWAS, AU and EU joined the UN to condemn the exercise which they described as inconsistent with worldwide democratic norms.

Before Niger’s debacle, another of Nigeria’s neighbour — Cameroon — had engaged in similar exercise which saw the amendment of the country’s constitution to allow incumbent president Paul Biya to extend his rule by another seven years. The difference between Niger’s exercise and Cameroon’s is that while the latter used the relevant institutions, i.e. constitutional court and the parliament to effect the necessary amendment, the former rather dissolved them. There are other examples such as Kenya, Uganda and Rwanda.

Despite efforts to dissuade President Tandja from conducting the referendum, the septuagenarian adamantly refused to pay heed to advice. Rather, he has terrorized civil society organizations, trade unions, NGOs and opposition parties he believes are the stumbling block to achieving his political aim. In fact, he has gone ahead to arrest a number of people opposed to him. This week’s referendum was the denouement to the president’s power game.

To arrive at this week’s finale, President Tandja dissolved Niger’s two main democratic institutions and pummelled the press into coma. First, he dissolved the parliament which he found “uncooperative”. The constitution says parliament must, by a three-quarters, assent to any changes in the constitution. Second, the constitutional court, as in the present case, must endorse the assent by parliament. President Tandja, instead, dissolved both because they refused to “co-operate” with him.

Niger Republic has experienced many coups d’etat since gaining independence, starting with the one in 1974 in which Diori Hamani was overthrown. Despite being rich in uranium, it is the poorest country in the world and equally has the notoriety of the worst literacy rate. Although there has been a measure of development in the country, there remains widespread poverty and unemployment as well as an overhang of a huge foreign debt.

Tandja’s referendum coup portends danger not only to the country, but  the entire continent. This is because the rising anger and resentment amidst poverty, unemployment and repression will add to the already hot political template. The fragile peace brokered by Libya early in the year between Niamey and Tuareg rebels may founder, probably leading to a civil war. The international community may also slam economic and political sanctions on it while at the same time ostracizing it.

In Brasilia, last week, President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua hinted that the AU, ECOWAS and EU would be involved in stepping up the pressure on Tandja because of the enormity of what is involved. According to him, “These efforts are being replicated… so that at the continental level, the AU wants to ensure that within this decade we achieve total political stability in Africa so that the entire continent can focus its attention on developmental issue.”

President Yar’Adua, in collaboration with the international community, must step up the pressure on President Mamadou Tandja to retreat. Africa has had enough of his type. Niger, also, cannot afford another setback on its democratic tracks; that will be dangerous. In fact, present and future generations of Africans cannot afford the luxury of the pernicious delusions of a kleptomaniac. Now is the time to put a stop to this tragic African disease.

BOKO HARAM MAYHEM

LAST week, militants belonging to a radical Islamic sect, opposed to western education, known as Boko Haram struck in some states mostly in the North Eastern part of the country with a devastating effect.

After five days of fierce exchange of fire with the police and later the military, the militants were crushed; its top hierarchy-including the leader Ustaz Mohammed Yusuf and his deputy-was destroyed. As at last weekend, not less than 700 bodies of suspected members of the Boko Haram sect were recovered in Maiduguri alone according to Colonel Ben Ahanotu, Commander of the state ad hoc security outfit code-named Operation Flush. With the over 100 killed in Bauchi state last Sunday, the death toll in the mayhem which affected Borno, Bauchi, Kano and Gombe states was over 800. This is in addition to the estimated 1,500 people that sustained various degrees of injury and some 10,000 people displaced.

Security report indicated that the Boko Haram group had been closely monitored for many years. According to the Director of Defence Intelligence, Colonel Mohammed Yerima, the sect, even with its notorious identity and transmutation, had been under surveillance since 1995. Although the sect had maintained its activities over the years, it had however assumed different identities including ‘Nigerian Taliban’ and ‘Ahlul sunna wal jama’ah’.

Adherents of Boko Haram regard western education and values, as sin and anything to do with it an anathema. They claim to have a right and responsibility to ‘purify’ the society through Jihad, a holy war. To them, the Nigerian society had been corrupted by western values and therefore must be cleansed.  Their main targets were security agencies. On Sunday July 28 a group of Boko Haram adherents attacked Dutsen Tanshi police station in Bauchi with assorted weapons including daggers machetes, bows and arrows etc. The crises spread to neighbouring Yobe, Borno and Kano states a day after.

Nigerians rose almost in unison to condemn the dastardly act of attacking police stations and killing people in the process. Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA) Jama’atu Nasril Islam (JNI) Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF) and many other organisations condemned the actions of the Boko Haram sect followers which led to the loss of hundreds of lives and destruction of properties worth millions of Naira. Expectedly, security agencies swiftly rose to the occasion and subdued the militants.

Commendable as the action of the security agencies was in containing the upsurge barely 100 hours after the sect struck in Bauchi, it had however raised many questions prominent among which was the killing of the sect leader few hours after the announcement of his arrest by the military and handed over to the police. Many view the killing as extrajudicial. We strongly recommend that the killing must be properly investigated and anyone found wanting be brought to book. Similarly many innocent people were reportedly killed especially in Maiduguri- the main theatre of the brutal confrontation. This also must be investigated.

A lot of accusing fingers were pointed at security agencies for their seeming lapse in detecting the trouble early enough for the government to take preventive measures. The House of Representatives for example openly accused the Police and the State Security Service (SSS) in this regard.  The explanation of the Director of Defence Intelligence however showed that the Boko Haram sect had been trailed for about 14 years.

We understand the predicament of the security agents for their inability to take any drastic action on the followers of the Boko Haram sect for merely being adherents of a religious sect all these years. This would amount to violation of the constitutional rights of the people concerned. The 1999 constitution had guaranteed every citizen the freedom to worship. However what we cannot understand is the inability of the security agents to detect the compilation of weaponry by the militants.

Religious related crises and their attendant dire consequences are not new in Nigeria. From the infamous Maitatsine upsurge in the 1980s, the Sharia crises of early 2000 and the recent Boko Haram incidence, Nigerians have had more than enough share of faith related mayhems. It is therefore high time the government evolved strategies of not only combating such insurgence but also pre-empting them with a view to nipping them in the bud before they snowball.

Equally important is for the government to endeavour to properly investigate such ugly incidences and bring perpetrators to book. This would serve as deterrent to others. It is unfortunate that to date there is no record of penalties meted out to anyone in this regard.

Similarly, governments at all levels must consider the need for the acceleration of their poverty alleviation programmes and prioritise youths education, in order to reduce the level of poverty and illiteracy in the society which in turn provide a fertile ground for  the proliferation of idle and poor youths that are easily recruited by religious zealots.

Tackling cancer

UNIFORM DATES FOR ISLAMIC FESTIVALS

OBAMA’S ACCRA DECLARATION

THE news of the passing away of the Shehu of Borno, Alhaji Mustapha Umar El-Kanemi, in Gala’a Military Hospital, Cairo, Egypt, penultimate Saturday, threw not only the people of Borno State into a state of mourning, but the nation as a whole. Inevitable, though, as death is, the demise of the monarch, the 19th in the historical calculation of the North-Eastern state, has left a deep sore in the hearts of his loved ones that will take a long time to heal. Even at a time he was battling with an undisclosed ailment, the Shehu’s contribution to socio-cultural, traditional and political development of the North and the country at large could not go unnoticed. The Shehu, who was 85 years old, was survived by four wives, many children, grand and great grandchildren.
There is no doubt that the people of Borno emirate have lost a royal father who was well respected and whose over three decades reign brought a lot of positive changes to Borno’s socio-cultural and traditional institution. He has severally been referred to as the father of modern day Borno, an epitome of modern traditional set-up and an exemplary leader who was a symbol of hope, peace and unity of his people.
Born in 1924 as the fourth son of the 17th Shehu of Borno, Sir Umar bin Mohammed El-Kanemi, the late Mustapha El-Kanemi had a remarkable career as public administrator and was a celebrated monarch for 34 years. He was, indeed, a leader of rare accomplishment.
Shehu Mustapha received his early education between 1936 and 1944. He later attended an administrative training course at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, between 1953 and 1954. He also participated in a local government course for district heads at Potiskum in 1969. His public administration career, however, began in 1945 when he was appointed executive secretary in the office of the Wali of Borno. He was subsequently transferred to various departments of the Native Authority including the Police, the Central Administration and the Veterinary Department as representative of the Shehu of Borno. During those formative years, he obtained first-hand knowledge and experience in the administration of various sectors and at different parts of Borno.
In view of his proficiency in public management, Alhaji Mustapha El-Kanemi was elected, in 1956, as member of Northern Nigerian House of Assembly on the platform of Northern Peoples Congress (NPC), representing Damaturu/Bursasi constituency. He was re-elected in 1959. In recognition of his meritorious service, the Shehu was, in 1961, appointed Parliamentary Secretary (Junior Minister) in the Ministry of Lands and Survey, Northern Region. And in 1966, El-Kanemi returned to Maiduguri when he was reappointed to the Central Office. Two years later, he was promoted District Head of Mafa and later Nganzai District of Borno Division in 1970. He retained this position until 1974 when he was selected by the traditional kingmakers, headed by the Waziri of Borno, to follow the Shehu of Borno. A year later, Alhaji Mustapha was officially named as the 19th Shehu of Borno – precisely on Friday, 1st February, 1975.
For well over three decades, the late Shehu of Borno led his people with a touch of royal sympathy, kindness and understanding; and for 30 years he was a public administrator par excellence. The aggregate of his qualitative leadership, his peaceful demeanour, patience to a fault, humility, integrity and forthrightness earned him the National Merit Award of Commander of the Order of the Federal Republic (CFR).
With a life well spent to the service of humanity, New Nigerian commiserates with the Government and people of Borno State over the loss of this great statesman. Indeed, the deceased lived a life worthy of emulation. That is why we urge his successor, the new Shehun Borno, Alhaji Abba Kyari Shehu Garbai, to study his footsteps and see where he can improve upon the legacies he left behind. May Allah grant our beloved 19th Shehu Jannatul Firdaus, even as we pray Allah to give us all the fortitude to bear this great loss.  

MAKING EXPORT WAIVER MEANINGFUL

THE decision by the Federal Government to waive bank guarantee requirement for exporters is a laudable and welcome relief. As rightly envisaged, the waiver will bring about increased investment in the non-oil sector.
Until now, exporters were required to present bank guarantee before they could receive their Negotiable Duty Credit Certificates (NDCCs). It was a requirement that had practically made the creation of conducive atmosphere for export and investment, which are some of the most vital economic activities, quite difficult.
The decision to waive it, which was reached at a recent meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee of the Export Expansion Grant (EEG) scheme headed by the Minister of State for Finance, Mr. Remi Babalola, is certainly a fundamental step towards the effective stimulation of export-oriented activities thereby further liberalizing the economic environment in the country. Apart from the reduction of costs in the process of export, which the waiver clearly guarantees, it will also surely beef up the country’s foreign exchange earnings.
New Nigerian not only appreciates this positive development but also urges exporters in particular and the Organized Private Sector (OPS) in general to take due advantage of the gesture by utilising the facility in increasing their level of activities as a way of strengthening the national economic base. We strongly believe that it is only when there are increased levels of export and investment that the current harsh effects of the global financial meltdown on the country can be mitigated.
We urge that all the relevant ministries, agencies and associations like the Federal Ministry of Finance, Federal Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Nigeria Customs Service, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Nigeria Export Promotion Council (NEPC), Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN) be enjoined to ensure that the waiver becomes fully effective. It is only through concerted efforts at ensuring that genuine exporters benefit from this initiative that the waiver will translate into a meaningful instrument to leverage the economy of the country.

 

OBAMA’S BURDEN

THE momentous inauguration of Senator Barack Hussein Obama as the 44th president of the United States last month will no doubt go down in history as one of the most epochal events of the century in many respects for the country and the world. Just as his nomination by the Democratic party and eventual victory in the keen, dramatic and energy-sapping contests during which he dazzled the electorate.The rest of the world watched with equally ken interest as the first African-American took the oath of office as POTUS (President of the United States) and Commander in Chief of the US forces. No less its significance as a defining moment for Obama whose relatively short but far-reaching foray into the American political terrain, unmistakably sterling personal qualities and consistent theme of  change represented great hope for millions of people, a society embroiled in economic crisis and a world in need of peace after a tumultous eight years of the George Bush administration.

The story of the emergence of President Obama is indeed along and tortuous one for the 47-year old Senator from Ilinois whose uncanny foresight, courage of  conviction, confidence and intelligence combined well with his oratorical and organizational skills to smooth his way to the White House. Suffice it therefore to focus on and re-examine his policies, programmes and postulations ensconced in the famed “yes, we can,” slogan during campaigns, as well as the challenges his presidency, which touch stones he emphasized on first day in office would be transparency and the rule of law, faces. It was to be expected therefore, as he demonstrably proved in the course of this week, that among the most immediate and dominant ones is the all-important domestic  economic crisis. Obama’s skillful handling of the issue, from promises and pledges in speeches at key administration forum, to the public presentation in Indiana and the congressional endorsement of his multi-billion dollars bail out or economic stimulus plan, portray him as proving his mettle as a leadership who takes  matching words with action seriously. The indices so far point out a meticulous results-oriented and head-on tackling of the challenges for which the president had made commitments. It remains to be seen however, how he will manage the other crucial issues such as job creation, alternative energy sources, the environment et cetera.

On the international scene are manifold challenges for Obama in a crisis-ridden world with particular regard to recurring conflicts in the Middle East and Asia where the US is either central to the key issues, had indeed committed its troops or is supportive of a particular regime in power irrespective of internal political dynamics and other realities. The world will certainly take him to task on the several promises he made including that of America being “a friend of each nation and everyman, woman and child who seeks a future of peace and dignity.” Worthy of note is his pledge to withdraw American soldiers from some conflict zones, and his willingness to talk to leaders of countries that the previous administration considered enemies of the US. The new Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton has said the US may begin talks with Iran. Towards change and a new world also, the president will be expected by humanity to build on and actualize “new way forward based on mutual interest and respect,” with the Muslim world. Obama will be tested in his promise to restore hope in the two-state solution and lasting peace in the Palestine-Israeli conflict. Afghanistan, where more US troops are reportedly headed, and the Indo-Pakistani age-old enmity (the Al-Qaeda  or terrorism dimension  inclusive) represents another  plank of the challenges he has to take on in the days ahead.

As far the African continent which also has its flash-points on account of varying modes and degrees of conflicts and crisis, President Obama notably did not make any strong commitment except perhaps his encouraging remarks about “those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent”.  Still, we believe that Obama should engage Africa more constructively especially through policies and programmes that will impact directly on the poor citizenry. His administration will do well to support infrastructure development projects and areas that have to do with education and healthcare delivery.

Accountability in Unity Schools’ admission fiasco

SCHOOLS re-open throughout the country this week after the yuletide season that marked the end of the first term in the nation’s school calendar. Unfortunately, due to a quirky and unaccustomed adherence to “due process”, the Federal Ministry of Education has deemed that thousands of Nigerian children, due to start their secondary education, will not be part of those returning to classes today. The children, their parents and the nation in general are wondering what will happen next. Speculations that the Federal Government has handed over the Unity Schools to state governments and scrapped the junior secondary school classes only add to the bewilderment.

Early last month, the head of the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority in Britain resigned his post because the organisation he headed failed to release examination results before students went on holiday. The QCA chief, Dr Ken Boston, said he was ‘taking responsibility’ following the fiasco, which left thousands of children breaking up for the school holidays without their results. He quit just days before the report of an independent inquiry into what went wrong was due to be published.

In a statement announcing his action, Dr Boston said: ‘I have reflected since the summer on the delivery failure and on the difficulties associated with key stage testing. In my 40-year career as a public servant in England and Australia, I have always believed in public bodies and public officials taking responsibility when things go wrong. In the light of that reflection and that belief, and in view of the challenges facing the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA) in the coming year, I believe it would be in the authority’s interests to find new leadership’.

At about that period, the authorities of the Federal Ministry of Education, after a long and inexplicable delay in announcing the placement of successful candidates into Federal Government Colleges, or Unity Colleges, following a qualifying examination and a screening interview, came out instead with a statement that shocked parents and left thousands of children stranded and confused. The examination was cancelled.

The Director General of the Federal Ministry of Education, Dr Goke Adegoroye, asserted that the government had to take that action because the National Common Entrance Examination of August 2008 was conducted in error. He explained that the examination had breached certain provisions of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) Act of 2004. That Act provides for mandatory nine years of free and compulsory basic education for Nigerian children. Over 60, 000 pupils are affected by this unfortunate and avoidable lapse in administrative behaviour. Adegoroye noted that the 2,500 naira that each pupil paid for the examination and subsequent interview would be refunded by the government. It would look like as far as he-and the ministry-is concerned, the government bore no further responsibility. He is wrong, and the government must hold its officials to the highest standards of responsible conduct and ask them to give account when they act wrongly, as we believe they have in this case.

Nothing better illustrates our anguish in this matter than the contrast in Nigeria with Dr Boston’s example in Britain. While the Briton took personal responsibility for the corporate action of his organisation, action that in this country is routine and no one would have noticed anyway, and resigned, those who have on the other hand put the academic prospects of 60,000 Nigerian pupils in jeopardy, were honoured with national awards. We think that President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, who personally invested the recipients with the honours, must have had misgivings about the quality of some of them when he observed that members of the Nigerian National Merit Award Nominations Committee should be guided by patriotism in their work.

In the meantime, we call on the government, including the National Assembly, to find ways to address the present anomaly and bring relief and justice to those stranded children and their worried parents.

MAURITANIA DEBACLE

LAST week authorities in the West African nation of Mauritania released former President Sidi Ould Sheikh Abdullahi whose democratically elected government was overthrown by the military junta led by General Mohammed Ould Abdelaziz in August this year. Before his release, Abdullahi had been banished to his hometown of Lemden before being brought to the capital Nouakchot last week where he was released.
Concerted efforts by the international community led by the European Union, EU, and the African Union, AU were made for his release. The UN which is the apex and moral authority on such matters had been passively adroit apart from the few statements of condemnation. The EU and AU piled pressure on the junta until it capitulated. To drive home their disdain to the arrogant usurpation of the infant democracy in Mauritania, France and the US cancelled their aid to the country while the AU suspended theirs.
What led to the hiatus occurred when former President Abdulahi tried to dismiss four senior military officers, including General Abdelaziz. Under Abdullahi, democracy was beginning to take deep roots in a society that had suffered bouts of debilitating poverty and chronic underdevelopment. Having steered Mauritania onto a path of democracy and development, government set about effecting dramatic changes within the polity, including a restructuring of the military, which did not go down well with the military.
By freeing Abdullahi, the junta said they were initiating an agenda, under the auspices of a so-called national consultative forum, to restore constitutional rule once again. Although details are still murky, it is clear, on account of the foregoing background to the crisis, that a difficult task would unravel. This is because there’s already a conflict of interest between the democratic forces led by the ousted president and supported by the international community on the one hand, and the junta and its cohorts who will not want the return of the deposed president, on the other.
Crucially, though, is the question of whether or not, former President Abdullahi would accept anything other than his restoration to power to resume his duties. If not, what options are there to be explored as a way out of the political debacle? Should this scenario prove unacceptable to the military rulers, what happens next? This is where the international community comes in and will most likely play an important role to resolve the crisis therein.
A diarchy is not possible in the present circumstances because there is no way the junta will want to work together with the ousted administration. On the other hand, too, the ousted regime would not want to have anything to do with their foes. What arrangement, therefore, can be made to accommodate both sides? From the look of things, the United Nations, the African Union and the European Union will have to intervene simultaneously.
First the idea of a diarchy is ruled out for two reasons: With the bad blood already existing between the former president and the junta, there’s no way the two can tango. Equally noteworthy is the fact that such an arrangement runs counter to the principles of democracy which is the norm in civilized modern societies.
Second, a middle course that will harmonise the interests, expectations, and the ideal, should be initiated and collapsed into one by the three international bodies. They should work out a transition period as well as lay down the parametres for next elections to return the country to civilian democratic rule. If possible, the constitution of Mauritania should be amended to foreclose any potential recriminations or vendetta in the future.
For peace, normalcy and democracy to return to the north western African nation, the international community should stand firm, first in condemnation of the junta, and second a credible transition team to be put in place under the AU-UN auspices. The generals must be told of the aberration they have slammed on the nation and the brutal consequences that would follow without their co-operation. In addition, no barrier should be planted or allowed to impede anyone or parties to participate in the emerging dispensation. In the meantime, the law enforcement and security agencies must be returned to the transition committee or government to avoid unnecessary harassment. The people of Mauritania deserve peace, tranquility and democracy, no more, no less.
 

MERRY CHRISTMAS

CHRISTIANS all over the world are today celebrating Christmas, an event that marks the birth of Jesus Christ. The occasion which is the most important yearly event for Christians, will once again witness series of activities. In Nigeria such activities are expected to include church services, parties and visits to friends and loved ones.
Christmas means many things to Christians. While some view it as one of the most important yearly event in Christendom, others see it as a mere festival of merry making and pageantry. Nigerians are, of course, not left out. However, the grim economic reality is such that has impacted harshly on millions of Nigerians to the extent that many Christians among us would ‘celebrate’ today on borrowed disposition.
To some millions, too, Christmas portends a time for reflection on human as well as government activities and or endeavour. To these Nigerians, it is circumspect for self and or collective assessment. For Nigerians who are in this category, it is time to cast, even if fleetingly, a look at the events that have impacted on them – positively or negatively since the beginning of the year. This will give them an enlightened guide as to what to do and or expect in the new year.
For Nigeria, there are a lot to contemplate: Politically, the local government elections held this year, like in other previous elections, remind us that we are far from matching onto the path of sustainable democracy. The fact remains that we are far from capable of organizing credible elections. The Supreme Court’s decision on the April 2007 Presidential election petition amply demonstrates how divided we are as a people, how intolerant we are and how much mileage there is still ahead to be covered for us to be on the path of an enduring democracy.
Economically, the Nigerian landscape remains mired in a cogwheel of poverty, misery, disease and stagnation. The standard of living is retrogressing except for a few.
Socio-culturally, the Nigerian child continues to wallow in a pool of hopelessness, slavery, abuse and neglect. In some circumstances they are either chattels and objects of ridicule or exploitation. Immorality, particularly prostitution and pornography, have become endemic while the dithering economic reality has meant capitulation for some and death for others.
On the occasion of this year’s Christmas, let us reflect on our national malaise and resolve to chart a new, more progressive course for future generations. Let us sweep away the vestiges and pangs that have shackled and stifled us with the broom of renewal, hope, honesty and commitment for the service of Nigeria and humanity and learn how to co-exist peacefully. Above all, let us regenerate our values as well as engage in moral and spiritual cleansing. We desire to have some space on the bosom of the sun. These are challenges not only to our political religion and community leaders, but also to the entire citizenry. We must collectively rise to them in order for us to attain the ultimate goal of every society-sustainable development.
We wish you all a happy celebration.
 

COURT MARTIAL

Recently, the Military- General Court Martial- sitting in Kaduna and presided over by Brigadier- General Bala Usara slammed life imprisonment sentences to a top army officer and five other ranks soldiers for stealing and selling various sophisticated weapons to militants in the Niger- Delta region of Nigeria.
The court martial heard that sometimes between January 1, 2000 and December 31, 2006, the six convicted military personnel supplied, illegally, 7000 sophisticated weapons valued at 100 million Naira to the Movement for the Emancipation of Niger-Delta (MEND) a militant group currently waging arms rebellion on Nigeria. The arms were sold through Sunny Bowei Okah, brother to Henry Okah, also standing trial in Jos, Plateau State capital, for similar offence.
The convicted include Major Suleiman Alabi Akubo; Sergeant Matthias Peter (79/NA/966); Lance Corporal Alexander Davou (79/NA/45/4618); Lance Corporal Moses Nwaigwe (79/NA/45/6565); Lance Corporal Nnamdi Anene (02N/52/5191) and Private Caleb Bawa (96/NA/43/8839).
However, two other soldiers, Corporals Kola David and Aliyu Mohammed, who were charged along with the convicted soldiers, were demoted to privates, for their failure to inform the appropriate authorities of the crime.
Their charge include: Criminal conspiracy, punishable under section 97 (1) (1) of the Penal Code and triable in a court martial by virtue of section 114 (1) of the Armed Forces Act Cap A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.Criminal breach of trust punishable under Section 215 of the Penal Code, Illegal dealings in firearms contrary to Section 9 (1) of the firearms Act Cap 4 (28) Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004 and aiding the enemy punishable under section 45(2) (d) of the Armed Forces Act Cap A20 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004, among other charges.
In his judgement, Brigadier- General Bala Usara noted that the stringent life imprisonment sentences were being handed on the convicts to serve as a deterrent to others who may want to endanger Nigeria ’s national security by stealing military weapons kept in their custody to sell to the enemies of the nation. According to him, “the convicted officer and soldiers must be sufficiently punished for the offences they committed.”
We commend the proceedings at the Brigadier- General Bala Usara led Court Martial because to a large extent it met the international best practice standard.
However, in view of the sensitive nature of the crime of stealing sophisticated weapons kept in their custody and illegally supplying them to groups of people fighting the nation, an act capable of endangering the national security, we we feel that the convicts deserve even more than life sentences.Offences like these should be considered treasonable and should be treated as such.

JOS CRISIS: TIME TO ACT
 

SINCE the eruption of the first ethno-religious violence in some of its parts in September 2001 and the second one on February 8, 2004, Plateau State has never known absolute peace. Both incidents not only resulted in the loss of hundreds of human lives and the destruction of colossal amount of property but also set the stage for the prevalence of hostility among some communities in the state.

It would, at least, be recalled that it was the occurrence of the crises that compelled the immediate past government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo to impose emergency rule on Plateau State on May 18, 2004 that lasted for six months. Although the action of the government helped to stabilize the situation, it however retarded the growth of true democracy in the state.

It is quite unfortunate that as the people of Plateau State in particular and Nigerians in general were struggling to forget the past incidents, another round of bloody clash suddenly occurred in the state capital, Jos, with the residents of the city  attacking and killing one another as well as destroying valuable property. Most people were shocked that what started as a disagreement over the local government elections that were conducted throughout the state on Thursday, November 27, 2008 snowballed into a full-blown ethno-religious war between the so-called indigenes who are mostly Christians and the members of what is offensively tagged as “settler community” which is mainly made up of Muslims.

The nature of killings and the destruction of places of worship certainly came across as the ugliest manifestation of the existing hostility among some communities in Plateau State and also aggravated the fear that the state has been turned into a theatre of war by a combination of greedy, selfish, jealous and un-enlightened people. The barbaric manner in which the massacre and the destruction were executed were clearly indicative of the fact that the feuding groups were only anxiously waiting for the slightest opportunity to unleash terror on each other.

While totally condemning the violence and commiserating with the government and people of Plateau State over the incidents, New Nigerian also wishes to join other well-meaning Nigerians in calling on the Plateau State government to urgently ensure that the  perpetrators of the act are appropriately punished. It is only when this is done that, the government which is being accused, in many quarters, of poor handling of the situation will be seen to be serious about the restoration of peace to the state.

Meanwhile, we wish to re-affirm our position as carried in the New Nigerian editorial of March 9, 2004 on the crisis in Pleatau State that “a situation where probe panel reports are filed away in shelves to gather dust will definitely not augur well for peace and any community. Government should be bold enough to apportion blames and where necessary punish individuals or groups no matter how highly placed who sow the seeds of discord in the society. This will serve as deterrent to others.” The time to act is now.

MUMBAI BLAST

THE  Indian commercial city of Mumbai penultimate week bore the brunt of an apparently co-ordinated, and widespread attacks by persons that Indian officials assert  came from neighbouring Pakistan. The attackers struck their targets with lightening speed and clinical execution. After 72 hours of carnage and utter confusion, about 200 victims were dead while another 300 were either injured or battered and receiving medical attention in hospitals. Twenty-two of them were Italians, French, Japanese, Americans and Canadians.

The attacks on Mumbai’s landmarks and selected targets were not the first in India. After the epoch 9/11 on US targets in 2001, there followed others in London and Spain as well as the bombing of a US naval ship off the coast of Yemen. In India itself there had been the 1992-3  Mumbai attacks and similarly in Gujurat in 2002. There were others too at Jaipur, Bangalore and Delhi.

Questions were immediately posed both within and outside Indian. For example, how did the India intelligence and security agencies get caught flatfooted? Given the country’s experience, why are important landmarks such as the Taj Mahal Hotel, Trident/Oberoi Hotels and the Jewish Nariman House not secured? Also, is it reassuring that India’s nuclear facilities are safe? But much more cogent is the question: who are the terrorists responsible for that attack?

One thing is clear, though. The terrorist who struck did so for a number of reasons although their act reignited not only the mutual suspicion that has existed between India and Pakistan since independence in 1947, but also heightened both the tension and the geopolitical rivalry between them. Of recent, under the prodding of the US, they had been cajoling guarded cordiality and enjoyed casual friendship. In India itself it has stirred the country’s many contradictions.

Reports coming out of Delhi suggest that the young terrorists were well-drilled and arrived Mumbai by sea. They are thought to either belong to the Lashkar-ee Taiba network or were trained by them. Either way, to achieve the gruesome and ferocious efficiency and impact  that they got means that they had a specialized training and planned over months. In fact, they did that under the very noses of Indian and Pakistani security agencies.

In this climate of tension, misguided or brainwashed youths are attracted to hate ideology and they see nothing wrong with taking a life no matter the circumstance as long as their self-interest, myopic as it often is, is satisfied. Wherever they exist, they are guided by a weird interpretation of justice and religion and are fed with meals spiced with hatred.

Lashkar-ee which is suspected of carrying out the deadly act is an Islamic militant group operating in Pakistan. Like other similar groups, it has found fertile ground in South Asia’s social roots which is home to the largest army of poor people on earth reeling under the harsh realities of IMF-imposed brutal restructuring programmes. Compounding this situation in the fact that both India and Pakistan are engaged in a spending spree on arms and weapons of mass destruction preparatory for or engaging in wars while their people are dying of hunger, poverty, disease and malnutrition.

The Mumbai debacle has a wider international dimension because it fits in with Western Powers’ self-declared ‘war on terror’; in fact it buttresses the ruling classes of these countries’ appetite and penchant for fattening their military budgets. They cite incidents like Mumbai to justify their large appetite for war. They do not have interest in addressing the root causes of terrorism and that is why the problems of Kashmir, Palestine and Iraq persist.

Which leads to how another Mumbai can be averted. Anger and hatred are products and or manifestation of poverty, hunger and frustration and not necessary human or genetic make-up. IMF and World Bank imposed conditions on non-Western regions of the world should be abandoned. Western powers should jettison racist-laced imperialists international relations. If this is done, it remains the other softer regime of fashioning out new strategies through dialogue, re-education, providing education and training reassessment and strengthening co-operation among the intelligence community.

PENSION FUND

The controversy raging on the security of Penson Fund between the House of Representatives Committee on Capital Market  on one hand and the nation’s regulatory agencies including, the National Pension Commission (PenCom), the Central Bank of Nigeria ( CBN), Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), and the National Insurance Deposit Commission (NIDC) on the other hand has remained a matter of serious concern to Nigerians and more so, when the entire world is being faced with a global capital market meltdown.

According to reports, over 30 per cent of the 997.5 billion cumulative Pension Fund has been invested in the nation’s crises-ridden capital market as at September 2008. Out of the money about 12.74 per cent came from Retirement Saving Accounts (RSAs) operated by the Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs), while 17.68 per cent came from the Closed Pension Funds Administrators.

The issues of pension in this country has been worrisome for quite a long time.The country’s experiences of incidences where senior citizens would collapse and die on the queue to collect pension was to say the least unfortunate. Equally disgusting was the incident that happened at the International Conference Centre, Abuja and the Police Pension verification and payment exercise that took place at Ikeja, Lagos which were characterised by the problems of logistics, missing names etc while many innocent retirees returned home without collecting the much advertised payment.

Pervading corruption in the system, under-funding, weak and inefficient framework and undue delay whenever payment is due have continued to bedevil the new contributory pension scheme aimed at addressing the aforementioned challenges. This had also instilled more fears amongst pensioners and Nigerians generally.

The ongoing global meltdown no doubt affected the Nigerian economy which will in turn affect the pension industry among other sectors. Federal Government and other stakeholders must therefore come up with measures to cushion the effect of such downward trend in the global financial sector on its citizens particularly pensioners who have toiled for the best part of their lives towards building the nation.

We recognise the efforts so far put in place by the federal government as stipulated in the nation’s constitution for the review of pensions every five years or every time salaries are reviewed and the establishment of the retiree fund based on fixed asset security by PenCom which has gone further to approve the licensing of 26 Pension Fund Administrators (PFAs); seven CPFA, five PFC as well as 18 schemes for effective service delivery.

However we feel the federal government should do more. For instance, it should as a deliberate measure, provide intervention fund to safeguard the massive pension investment in the ailing capital market that has been hit by global financial crises.

JIGAWA’S TALAKAWA SUMMIT